Unknown
by Retrobution
Summary: Percy gets hurt by an unknown creature, but nectar and ambrosia can't heal him. He can't tell anyone or else one of his friends will die... *Complete*
1. Prolouge

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Prologue

"Are you ready to go to camp?" Sally Jackson asked her son.

Percy groaned for what could be the hundredth time today. His mom had asked the same question too many times today. And to think it was only the morning!

"Yeah," Percy said excitedly.

Percy couldn't help it. The war was over and he could finally go to camp in peace! He could finally see what it would be like to just spend the entire summer in camp. No quests, no war, just relaxing all summer. Or so he thought.

"Wait, I have to get something," Percy shouted as he ran back inside his residence.

Percy forgot his necklace for Annabeth. It was a necklace with a small owl in the middle. He didn't plan on buying her anything, but when he saw it, he had to get it for her. He snatched it up from his bedside table and went to run back to the car but something pushed him from behind.

Percy immediately put his hand to his pocket for Riptide and uncapped it. He turned around with a celestial bronze sword pointing at the mysterious figure. Only to find that no one was there. He frowned and went back to the car, but something made him freeze.

An unknown monster was blocking the doorway. Percy's mom couldn't see it, and he was thankful for that. He could handle this; he had the curse of Achilles. But a voice in his head told him that the curse of Achilles wouldn't help in this battle.

The monster couldn't be seen, only shadows curled around it. The shape of the monster didn't seem like anything Percy had seen, which he assumed that maybe it was a new species.

The unknown creature was only a distraction. Something grabbed Percy from behind, and twirled him around. It was so fast; he couldn't even see who his attacker was.

Something with a razor sharp knife slashed at Percy's back viciously. Before he could even make a sound, the attacker muffled his noises with its hands. He kicked his leg behind him, but his attacker didn't even move.

The pain from the poisoned knife took effect only seconds later. Continuous blood streamed down from his Camp Half Blood T-shirt. It felt more painful than holding up the sky, heck; it even felt more painful than taking a dip in the River Styx. But that was what the poison was doing: removing the curse of Achilles without the River Styx eating him up.

"Don't try to struggle," A person that Percy couldn't see came up behind him. "It won't help. Let me tell you something. Don't even show the slash to your friends, or else..."

The person left his sentence hanging while Percy tried to think straight which was really hard. The pain went on for agonizing seconds and he continued struggling, despite what the person said.

"What did I say about not struggling?" The person said as his attacker made another slash on Percy's back and he screamed silently due to the hand. "Finishing what I said earlier, your friends will die. Your best one. Or maybe... Your girlfriend?"

Percy kept on kicking and elbowing harder than before.

"Don't touch her!" Percy made another attempt to speak, but couldn't.

The unknown person laughed. It sounded crazy, like a maniac that had just been released from a mental asylum.

"Percy? Hurry up!" Sally called out from the door.

If possible, the laughter got even louder. "Or maybe your mother will do. Goodbye for now."

And with that, everything went back to normal. The shadows and creatures disappeared, along with the person when they were gone; Percy felt even more pain than possible. He wanted to scream, but he remembered the person's words "your friends will die." He had to act normal, as much as the pain hurt.

Percy couldn't even tell anyone that his curse of Achilles was gone. He would have to take those punches that Annabeth would give him if he did something wrong. He was doing it for her and everyone else after all. He quickly grabbed a jacket, even though it was hot outside, and put it on.

Taking a deep breath that hurt Percy's back, he opened the door and collapsed in Paul's Prius. His mother was looking at him in worry.

"You should take some nectar," Sally said.

Percy worried immediately. Did his mom already find out?

"You look so pale," Sally continued.

Percy sighed in relief, and then smiled a bit. Nectar! He hadn't thought of that yet. Maybe his attacker wasn't as smart as he thought he was. He took out a bottle of nectar and sipped it one by one. He certainly felt better. When he went to camp, he would find that his wound would be all better.

"So where's Paul again?" Percy asked.

"He's at work, but he sends his regards." Sally replied, nearing the corner to go to camp.

"I thought it's the summer?"

"You destroyed the cafeteria remember? Luckily no one knows it's you. They need all the staff members they can get."

Percy smiled sheepishly, and felt the pain in his back coming back again. He touched his back tentatively and scrunched up in pain when he felt a long line in his back. His face calmed down when his mom looked at him. The nectar was supposed to heal it, he thought with a bit of shock and surprise.

"And we're here," Sally announced.

Sally helped Percy haul the bags out of the car. When he was bending down, she saw a bit of red. Is that a scar? Isn't it supposed to hurt? She thought. But when he gave her a reassuring smile, she must have been mistaken. The Stolls had visited once. Maybe it was their prank. The scar soon faded out of her mind when they had to say goodbye.

"Don't worry mom," Percy reassured her with a grin. "Everything's going to be fine. The war's over remember?"

But as they hugged goodbye, and Sally was driving back to the apartment, she wondered. Was everything really ok?  
**  
A/N: Sorry for any OOCness. This is just the prologue. And for the plot line, well it's not exactly well thought out, so if you have any suggestions say them in a review. Hope you enjoyed reading it!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians  
**  
Chapter 1

Everything was not going ok for Percy. He stumbled over to Thalia's tree like he was drunk. When he saw Annabeth running over to him, he cursed. _She can't find out, she can't find out!_ He screamed mentally in his mind. He straightened up even though his back was suffering.

"Hey Annabeth!" Percy greeted with a hint of fake cheerfulness.

But the truth was, Percy was happy. It had been a long time since he bad seen Annabeth and the camp. It was just that damn scar...

"Hey Percy!" Annabeth smiled at him, but then the smile faded to uncertainty when she saw his posture. "Are you ok?"

_Straighten up!_ Percy thought desperately in his mind. He did.

"Yeah," Percy lied. "I'm fine. Just really tired. Yesterday I got too excited and only got an hour's sleep."

Annabeth knew something was wrong with her boyfriend once she saw him. His back, usually kind of slouched, was now straightened like he was hiding something. And then there was his sentence. He had gotten used to not sleeping for a long time during the war. So why was he lying?

"Are you sure?" Annabeth repeated.

"Yup," Percy replied with a forced grin.

"Ok..."

Percy noticed Annabeth's unbelieving tone and he slightly panicked. The words of his attacker haunted him. 'Or maybe... Your girlfriend?' He shook slightly, and she could feel him tremble a tiny bit.

"Are you cold?" Annabeth asked.

"I should be the one asking you that," Percy replied.

Instead of punching him, Annabeth laughed. She had missed his sense of humor. Her question was forgotten, as they caught up with how things were going.

Chiron met them at the Big House. He smiled when he saw Percy.

"Percy my boy," Chiron greeted, and then noticed his shivering. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Percy repeated his lie to his mentor. "I'm fine."

Chiron looked unsure but nodded. "Then get settled in. Tomorrow you'll start activities. I'm glad you're back. Annabeth here has been missing you alot so I'll give you two time to catch up."

Percy sighed in relief, making Annabeth think that he was happy because he could skip activities for one day. But she couldn't be fooled. She didn't comment, and he was happy about that. If he could fool his mentor, he could fool almost anyone.

Together, they both walked to the beach. Along the way, Percy waved to his friends who had fought in the Titan war. He was glad to be home. Second home, but a home nonetheless.

"So Percy,' Annabeth said when they sat down on the sand. "How's school?"

Percy answered with triumph. "I haven't been kicked out yet. Well I destroyed the cafeteria but I'm fine. You?"

Annabeth laughed as she heard that Percy had destroyed the cafeteria.

"Well," Annabeth started. "Unlike you, I haven't destroyed anything. And then I designed these buildings..."

Percy zoned out after that and began thinking other thoughts. But no matter what he thought about, he kept on thinking about the scar. And then back to what Annabeth was talking about. And then back to the scar again.

"Are you listening to me?" Annabeth asked Percy.

Those were the first words Percy heard when he snapped his attention back to Annabeth. The first words that didn't have to do with 'stupid Apollo statue he wanted me to build.'

"Uh... Yeah?" Percy said with a question mark at the end.

Annabeth punched Percy's arm playfully, and noticed that she didn't get hurt like she usually did. _Maybe I punched him too soft,_ she thought with a confused frown.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked her.

"Nothing," Annabeth muttered.

Annabeth was still thinking about it, when Percy decided it was a great idea to splash some water on her for fun. His only excuse was to say 'blame my ADHD,' but she had ADHD too.

"Oh my gods," a dripping wet Annabeth glared at Percy. "You're dead Seaweed Brain!"

That, I am, Percy thought to himself as Annabeth unsheathed her dagger. She didn't know that his curse of Achilles was gone. So he'll have to try and hide all the bruises she might inflict on him when he does something wrong... Like now for example. She tackled and pinned him to the floor.

"Aww," one of Aphrodite's daughters took a photograph.

Annabeth forgot all about the wave. She stormed over to the Aphrodite kid and snatched the camera in her hands.

"You are so sick minded," Annabeth threw the camera at Percy, who caught it. "It's called tackling someone to the ground!"

"Tacos?" The daughter of Aphrodite looked confused.

"Just go."

Percy ignored the loud voices and was figuring out what to do with the camera. He looked at all the pictures and gagged. Of course all the pictures of celebrities were there. Ripped shirts with swimming trunks were for the guys. Girls with short revealing dresses stood out. He threw the camera away in disgust and Annabeth caught it this time.

"Aphrodite's kids are really-" Annabeth turned on the camera and looked at the pictures while talking.

Making a small fake gagging noise, Annabeth threw the camera into the ocean, where the sea churned as if saying 'no littering!'

"Sorry Poseidon," Annabeth whispered.

"People don't throw rubbish at owls!" Percy protested.

Annabeth mused over the thought, while Percy waited for her reply.

"They actually do sometimes," Annabeth replied. "But they shouldn't."

Percy nodded, and it was only when the conversation about owls stopped, when he remembered the necklace. He rummaged inside his pocket.

"Oh yeah," Percy said and hid the necklace behind his back. "I got you something."

Annabeth smiled as Percy out the necklace in her hand. It was beautiful. A small owl was in the middle of the golden chain. And not just any owl, it was grey. It had felt cold in his hands, but when she touched it, it became the slightest bit warmer.

"Can you do it for me?" Annabeth asked.

Annabeth gave the necklace back to Percy. He unclasped it and held the sides as he placed it around her neck. When he was done adjusting the owl in the middle, he clasped it. She fingered the owl which was above her camp T-shirt collar.

"Thank you," Annabeth said with sincerity, unlike Thalia, who had once grabbed a present while forgetting to say thank you. "How much did it cost?"

"Only you would ask that question," Percy said with a crooked grin. "A hundred bucks; I didn't really see the price actually."

"And only you could miss the price."

But Annabeth was touched. She snuggled up closer to Percy.

"You know it's not nighttime right?" Percy interrupted the peaceful moment.

"And you just ruined the moment," Annabeth retorted.

"Oops..."

Tranquil silence once again washed over them as the waves crashed peacefully over the rocks.

"It's actually going to be afternoon soon," Percy blurted out randomly.

Annabeth saved her breath by not commenting on Percy's severe case of ADHD. The conch horn blew, signaling lunch time for the campers.

"Come on," Percy said, eager to eat.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, but let her boyfriend drag her to the dining pavilion.

**A/N: Hope this chapter is good for you people. This story isn't going to be completely Hurt/Comfort; I'll add humor too sometimes. Thanks for all the ideas and support as well!  
**


	3. Chapter 2

******Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 2

While they were walking towards the pavilion, Percy asked the most thoughtful question he had ever said to Annabeth.

"Is it ever racist," Percy asked in deep thought. "That we are all separated into different tables just because of our parents?"

"Wow," Annabeth said sarcastically. "I never thought you could think that deep."

Annabeth had no idea that Percy could ever think such a thing. Maybe he was joking, but he seemed 100% serious to her._ Still, at least his brain is not completely filled with seaweed, _she thought with a small grin.

"I was serious," Percy said as he looked at Annabeth's grin.

"Oh," Annabeth stopped walking to look at Percy. "You think of Camp Half Blood as a concentration camp? I don't think its racist Percy."

Percy had to drag Annabeth again because she stopped. She struggled and hit his back in the process, as the heel of her feet was trying to get a good grip on the ground. She couldn't find any and cursed. He cursed as well. But fro an entirely different reason. His back hurt much worse than the dip in the Styx. It was lucky he had his girlfriend here, she was the person that kept his determination.

"I can walk by myself Percy," Annabeth tried, and all conversation they had talked about lay forgotten in the bottom of Tartarus.

"Dragging you seems so much funner."

Annabeth just laughed as Percy attempted to carry her. He had no such luck, and almost fell down.

"Gods Annabeth," Percy panted as he set her down on the ground. "When did you get so heavy?"

What? Annabeth thought, but later made it in a joke.

"You're saying, Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, and the savior of Olympus can't even carry his own girlfriend?" Annabeth teased instead of being angry.

"Yeah."

Percy said the word like he didn't care. Except he could carry Annabeth. He hated lying to his girlfriend but it was for the greater good. Or else she would die. Gods, he sounded like a crook...

Annabeth laughed again. "I changed my mind."

"About what?"

"I want you to carry me now."

Percy sighed in reluctance, forgetting what the consequences were. "One piggyback ride, that's all."

Annabeth got a gleam in her eye, and smiled like she meant it. "Ok."

Going backwards, Annabeth ran and jumped right onto Percy's back. Right where the scars were inflicted. He grunted in pain as her heaviness came down on him. He bit his lip to stop himself from screaming out.

"Where to your heaviness?" Percy asked Annabeth while gasping in between breaths.

"That's your highness to you," Annabeth said teasingly.

"Alright, so where to your heaviness?"

Annabeth smiled but said nothing. "To lunch in the pavilion."

Percy painfully nodded and tried to smile as he walked forward step by step. He stopped every time while trying to take in all the pain. And eventually, his fake smile turned into a real grimace. He failed to hide it, and saw Annabeth looking at him.

"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked Percy as his face scrunched up in pain.

"You're really heavy," Percy said.

"And for that insult, you get to carry me all the way to my table."

Percy groaned but did as asked. It felt like Annabeth was the sky as he walked on. He got some curious glances from the campers but he ignored them as he tried to stay on his one mission: stay conscious.

"Almost there," Annabeth said.

Percy sighed in relief and almost dropped Annabeth to wipe the sweat of his brow. Muttering a 'sorry,' he continued carrying her all the way until the dining pavilion. He walked torturously towards the Athena table and dropped her off at the bench.

"Satisfied your heaviness?" Percy said with a tiny grin from having no one on his back.

"Very," Annabeth replied with a satisfying smile.

Percy waved his goodbye and felt like he was drunk when he walked back to his table. He took unsteady steps, left and right, as if he would collapse any second. His back was torturing him, and he wasn't even halfway back yet. Annabeth shot him worrying glances every now and then. Hell, almost everyone who was there stared. He ignored the stares, and regained his footing just as he was about to trip. _Damn attacker, stupid, idiot, moron, piece of sh-_ his thoughts were interrupted.

"Do you need any help?" Annabeth's voice rang clear in the pavilion.

"That would be appreciated," Percy replied with a smile.

Percy really needed help. Annabeth knew that as she got up from her table and walked towards Percy with a worried frown. Campers watched her help him get to his table. Even Chiron watched the scene with a worried face on.

"Thanks Annabeth," Percy's words sounded drunk.

"Have you been drinking?" Annabeth asked.

"No."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

Annabeth stared at Percy, but even with her intimidating grey eyes, he didn't tell the truth. _If only you know how much this hurts...___

"You can tell me what's wrong later alright? You don't have to tell me now," Annabeth said as she walked back to her table.

While Annabeth was walking back, she didn't have any appetite for her food. Her half-siblings could obviously tell that she was worried about Percy. She had these worry creases on her forehead, and her lips turned into the opposite of smiling. He had been acting strange all day. And even when they were younger, he was able to carry her. He just wasn't himself. And she wanted to know why.

Percy nodded weakly, as Annabeth walked away. Campers looked at him incredulously and he forgot that he had to sacrifice his lunch to the gods. He groaned as he got up from the comfy bench, and wished he had Nico's shadow traveling ability. He got his plate in his trembling and shaking hands and began shuffling very slowly towards the pit. He didn't want to sacrifice his food for once. He could already imagine Zeus's angry face, and he laughed.

Apparently laughing hurt Percy's back. And just when his girlfriend sighed and was about to help him again, a searing hot fiery pain overcame his back, and he couldn't help it.

Percy blacked out as his head banged on the edge of the pit.  
**  
****A/N: This is after the Last Olympian, but Percy won't go missing. And when the attacker attacked him, I know I should've made him say something funny, but I kind of forgot... Oh well, thanks for all the support!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 3

Even unconscious, the attacker appeared in his dream. Percy's eyes widened when he saw the person. And then it turned to anger and annoyance. He glared at the person, but the attacker just laughed.

"Surprise," the attacker said, as he walked forward.

Finally Percy could see who his attacker was a bit clearer. He was very tall, about 7'4. He had a black hood that it looked like he was the Grim Reaper. The hood covered up most of his face, and only dark shadows covered the rest. The hood also had one long strip of blankness. You could see its red glowing eyes clearly. He was wearing a black robe that reached up to his feet. The robes flew around him like he was a king. Gloves that were white reached up to his elbows. His shoes were sleek silver that looked like it was polished 24/7. It was gleaming that much. Knuckle-dusters were placed on his fingers evenly. Each and every one of them with spikes coming out.

And then there was the poisoned knife itself. Percy could finally see the weapon that had caused all the pain. It was new. He had never seen that type of knife before. It was a blood red knife which he didn't know was because of the people the person killed or the actual colour. The handle was beautifully crafted. A design that resembled a white deadly looking skull was carved on. The skull was made out of marble. The poison was silvery. On the blood red knife there was a layer of sliver that seemed to be moving around like blobs.

The poison was rare. Percy recognized it. Polonium. A very hard to make, rare, and deadly poison. Was that what was in his wound? It couldn't be though. If it was polonium, he would be dead and in either more or less pain then now. But if it wasn't polonium, then what was it?

"I bet you're wondering what I did to you," the attacker said.

If Thalia was here, Percy knew she would say 'no shit Sherlock.' But he wasn't his cousin. He was himself. He bit back a retort and the person continued.

"No retort? That's too bad. I've heard many bad things about you with the titans..." The attacker said.

Percy caught the slip-up. The attacker had talked to the titans... What if he was one himself?

"This is a poison I made myself," the attacker said. "I call it QWERTY. Do you want to know what it stands for?"

"Quirky water eating rally tea yelling?" Percy said what was on his mind.

The attacker frowned, and glared at Percy. "No. Guesses are pointless since no one can guess it."

"What is it?"

"Quarantined Waters in Eligible Rats Through Yelling."

Percy snorted with laughter and the attacker glared once again. "You better watch your tone boy."

Percy bit his lip, and tried to stay silent. He failed miserably when he laughed again. But when the attacker glared again, he became quiet.

"Much better. You know why I call it that?" The attacker asked.

"You said that guesses are pointless," Percy pointed out.

"Ah. Yes right. Fine. Quarantined waters. Poisonous waters coming from suitable rats by yelling. Basically, poison in rats, activated by yelling. Do you know what this means Perseus?"

Percy was about to tell the person that he said that he hated guessing, and that he could just call him 'Percy' but changed his mind. "No."

"It means that by yelling," the attacker stared him straight in the eyes when he said this. "You'll activate the poison and die in the most horrible way possible."

Percy stared right back at his attacker. It was the most stupid thing he ever heard.

"Do you want to test me Perseus?" The attacker said quietly. "From your unconsciousness, I could make this dream into your death."

Percy shook his head, desperately hoping that the attacker wouldn't kill him.

"But I cannot," the attacker sighed.

Percy sighed in relief, but the attacker wasn't finished yet.

"I've been slacking off," the attacker muttered. "I came here for a reason. A quest. No one must know. Go secretly. Lie. Do whatever it takes to complete the quest. I will not care if you die."

And before Percy could even speak, the attacker threw a throwing knife right between the savior of Olympus's eyes. He stumbled back before waking up in the camp infirmary.

Annabeth was sitting in the camp infirmary when Percy woke up. She looked at him with concerned eyes.

"You want to tell me how this happened?" Annabeth asked.

_Lie_. Percy could remember the attacker's words. "I just had a really bad headache. It started when I got here."

Annabeth nodded, buying the lie completely. Percy hated to lie, but it was necessary. He had to. He sat up, knowing that he had a shirt on so that no one could see his scars.

"I'm fine Annabeth. I just want to go to my cabin and rest for a while," Percy said.

"That's what you're here for," Annabeth replied with a small smile.

"No, I meant I wanted to go back to my cabin to rest and think without anyone interrupting me."

Percy looked at Annabeth, and he could see some hurt flash in her eyes. Only for one second. Now it was gone.

"Ok," Annabeth replied. "I'll call you when dinner starts, even though we have a conch horn."

Then Annabeth walked away. Percy longed to call after her, but she was already too far away, he would need to yell. And he couldn't. He sighed, got up, and started walking back to his cabin. The fire pit had caused him to get a huge headache, and luckily no bruises. If anyone suspected his curse of Achilles was gone, he was screwed.

Percy walked inside his cabin and lay down on the bed, staring at the top bunk as he did so. The door was closed, and no music was playing, so it was mostly peaceful. He thought about the quest. He didn't even know where to go, what to do, or where to start. All he knew was that he had to complete the quest alone. And if he died, the attacker wouldn't care.

A crinkle of a paper startled Percy out of his thoughts. The noise came from under his pillow. He put his head up, and lifted the pillow up. Underneath the pillow, a medium sized thick paper enough to hold something in the middle, was laying there. He picked it up cautiously, and when he saw that it wasn't going to explode or do anything, he sighed in relief and started reading the note.  
_  
__Perseus Jackson: __Here is the prophecy of the quest you will do:__One half-blood shall go on a quest__Not the North__Not the south__Not the East__But the West__Retrieve a skull from the area in a flame__And you will not take the blame__(This message will self-destruct in 3...2...1)__  
_  
Percy didn't think the message was serious until it began exploding rapidly, burning his hands. He yelped and used the water fountain in his cabin to heal himself. After a few seconds of the relaxing water, he took his hands out.

The prophecy rang clear in Percy's mind, he didn't forget it. He couldn't forget it. He had to admit, out of all the enemies he had faced, he was the most scared of a 7'4 guy that looked like a Grim Reaper.  
**  
****A/N: Sorry for posting the same chapter twice! I didn't notice until I got this review. And then a few other reviews following it. Really sorry for the late update as well, I hope this chapter makes up for it. Might not be the best chapter, but I hope it's satisfactory. And it might be OOC, sorry about that. Thanks for all the support!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians******

Chapter 4

Percy knew he had to go now. It was midnight, and he had no interruptions from when he was packing his bag. He packed several things: food, water, money, a map, and one photograph incase he died and wanted to remember something from his home. He packed several other things as well, and stuffed it all in his bag. The quest was going to be hard without anyone else helping him.

Now the only thing Percy had to worry about was the harpies. He would have to sneak past them while trying not to make my noise. But even though harpies were patrolling the area, he wanted to look at Annabeth one last time. He knew if he wanted to satisfy himself, he would go to every single cabin and take one last look at all his friends as a last goodbye. But he couldn't. It was too dangerous to be caught.

So Percy settled with just going to the Athena cabin. He crept as silently as he could to the cabin, trying hard to be very silent. He held his breath and went behind trees once he saw shadows emerging. When they were gone off to patrol another area, he released the breath he was holding and ran.

Percy ran quickly and quietly. He had to admit, he could have awoken the entire camp with his tripping and cursing. Luckily he didn't. While he was running, he was thinking about the quest. Going through sentence by sentence.

_One half-blood shall go on a quest...___

Percy knew that the half-blood was him. It was obvious and had no double meanings.

_Not the North,___

_Not the South,___

_Not the East,___

_But the West...__  
_  
Percy went through four sentences to get one meaning. So he had to head West, and not the East, South, or North. Simple enough.

_Retrieve a skull from the area in a flame...__  
_  
How many areas in a flame had a skull? Percy racked his brains for any history lessons with Annabeth to see if she had said any skulls. He had to remember another time. He reached the cabin in such a short distance, and opened the creaky door silently.

And then Percy saw Annabeth. She slept peacefully, and if he had still been her best friend instead of boyfriend, he might have considered himself a stalker.

No worry lines or creases were on Annabeth's face. But she was frowning. Muttering things like 'don't go' and occasionally a shudder. Percy wondered if she already knew. He wanted to go to her and comfort her, but he had already spent too much time slacking off. Giving her one last look, he turned around and started walking away.

Percy sighed as he encountered another harpy that he had to avoid. He had to go to Thalia's tree, which his cousin had mixed feelings about. As he walked, he thought about the last line of the prophecy.

_And you will not take the blame...__  
_  
What was that supposed to mean? Percy had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Take the blame for what? And once again, he wished he had another person with him on the quest. Then maybe the prophecy wouldn't be so complicated.

Percy arrived at the tree quickly. He wasn't expecting the attacker to be there. Peleus was wide awake, and snorted in greeting when he saw him walking up the hill.

"I will give you hints," the attacker said reluctantly. "I have to. Or else you'll never retrieve it. Well, the skull is in Alaska. Can't tell you where, sorry."

But the attacker didn't look very sorry. Percy could see only see a black fog through the shadows, and a ghostly hint of a smile could be seen. But that was all the attacker showed him. He blinked, and it was back to where he couldn't see anything at all.

One blink was all it took. Percy blinked once and the attacker was gone. Teleporting? He didn't think so. It could be a hologram though. That was the only thing that came to mind. He ignored how the attacker got away, and instead focused on the words he had said. 'The skull is in Alaska...' That was beyond the gods's power. The attacker was smart, he had to admit.

Percy wondered how he would get to Alaska. He had no transport. Unless... Blackjack, his most loyal Pegasi. He whistled, and could only wait and pray that the Pegasus would come. He knew Blackjack always came, but today, it was later than usual. He started to worry that maybe he would have to go there on foot. One minutes passed. Usually it took only thirty seconds for him to come.

_Yo boss got any sugar cubes?_ Blackjack spoke in Percy's mind and he sighed in relief.

"I'll give you a donut if you can bring me to Alaska right now," Percy said, sighing in relief that Blackjack had come.

_Alaska? Isn't that beyond the gods's power?_ Blackjack questioned. The look on Percy's face was urgent, and the Pegasus knew he shouldn't argue. _A donut? Sure thing boss.___

And that's how Percy ended up, an hour later with a Pegasi hiding behind a forest tree as best as he could while his boss brought him a donut.

"One donut," Percy said quickly.

"What kind?" The person at the counter said in boredom.

Percy knew he should've asked for a normal donut. But maybe Blackjack could go faster if he got more sugar.

"Two donuts, covered in sprinkles, lots of sugar, and drizzled in chocolate," Percy replied, hoping that this was a good idea.

The person raised an eyebrow in surprise, wondering how much this kid could eat. But she did as told, handing Percy two donuts like he requested. He gave her five dollars and headed off, back to Blackjack.

"Here's your donut," Percy said, handing one donut to Blackjack. "Let's go."

Blackjack whinnied happily and when Percy gave the signal, they soared off, into the air, making sure they stayed low so that Zeus couldn't blast them off the sky.

_So why are you going to Alaska boss?_ Blackjack spoke.

"Business," Percy replied.

Percy could have told Blackjack everything, but the words from the attacker rang in his mind. Maybe the Pegasi could die. But the answer didn't satisfy Blackjack. He got the entirely different idea.

_Seeing someone boss?_ Blackjack spoke again, with a tone that clearly meant that he was bored and he was looking for something that would amuse him.

"No," Percy said hastily, glad that Annabeth wasn't here for once.

Blackjack stayed silent, but if Pegasus could grin, he definitely did now. Percy ignored his friend and watched the scenery. He had never been to Alaska before. The attacker said that the skull was in Alaska, no specifics. The skull could be anywhere. And the worst part was that the skull was white. It could be camouflaged by the snow for all he knew.

**A/N: Sorry for the mixup last chapter, I didn't mean to repeat the third chapter twice. Suggestions and ideas are welcome. Thanks for all the support!****  
**


	6. Chapter 5

****

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians******

Chapter 5

It was nearly time for sunrise. Percy could see the sun go up, yet he hadn't reached his destination yet. Speaking of destination, he could already see the snow. Lots of snow. He cursed in his mind. _Why did it have to be a skull?_ _Why couldn't it be a house cat that was orange?_ The thought of orange led to many other thoughts. Flames. _Find an area in a flame... How hard can it be?__  
_  
Percy jinxed his luck once he thought 'how hard can it be?' He knew many other people would say the same thing as well. So why couldn't he listen? It was getting harder and harder, and they went slower. Blackjack was getting tired, and he started to get slightly guilty that he had made his Pegasi come all the way to Alaska just because of a stupid quest. A stupid quest that could get him or his friends killed...

_We're in Alaska, where do you want to stop? _Blackjack spoke in Percy's mind tiredly.

Again, the guilt hit Percy. "Stop when you see orange."

_You mean right now?_ Blackjack replied.

Percy was about to ask Blackjack what he meant when he saw it. Snow was melting, and fire danced around it, melting even more snow that soon turned into puddles of water.

He had to admit, he didn't think he would find it so fast. But then again, this probably wasn't the first area in a flame either. His thoughts made this much harder than it already was.

"Yeah," Percy replied to Blackjack's previous question. "Drop me off here. Then you can go."

In Percy's bag, he had also packed a winter jacket. But seeing as camp was used to having good weather, even a winter jacket wouldn't prepare him for this. He shivered violently as Blackjack dropped him off.

_Are you sure boss-_ Blackjack asked, but got cut off.

"You can go," Percy stopped his friend abruptedly.

_Alright. Take care boss._ Blackjack replied.

And with those words, Blackjack soared off into the sky. Percy watched his friend go with regret. And for one second, he considered forgetting the quest and just going back to camp, ignoring the attacker's words. But he couldn't let his friends die. With a firm mindset telling him to go on, he set off, using the melted snow that turned into water to extinguish the flames out. He took a deep breath and made a water whip take care of any flames that got into his way.

Percy didn't know where the skull was. He doubted that even the attacker knew where it was. Or the gods even. The gods didn't even know where he was, and that scared him. But then a thought crossed him. Blackjack knew where he was. So if Poseidon wanted to find him, he would talk to him first. Except no one could find him. He wouldn't let anyone find him until he was done the quest.

**On Olympus, throne room, a meeting with all the Olympians, two minutes before Percy arrived in Alaska: ****  
**  
Zeus was talking his usual nonsense. Everyone was doing its own thing, so Poseidon didn't even bother to answer when his brother asked him a question.

"Poseidon," Zeus asked him, slightly irritated. "Can you do it or not?"

Poseidon looked up. "Do what?"

"Weren't you listening?" Zeus asked him a different question.

"No."

The answer was short and truthful. And then Poseidon began thinking about Percy. He closed his eyes and could see his son flying on Blackjack to... No. Why would he go there? He had to stop him.

Zeus noticed that Poseidon had closed his eyes. "Poseidon!"

Poseidon's eyes opened quickly. "Percy's going to Alaska."

"And why should we..." Zeus began but trailed off, realizing what it meant.

"I have to stop him."

But Percy was already in Alaska, in the land beyond the gods's power. Poseidon's image of his son faded into nothingness. He couldn't stop him. It was too late...

"What are you waiting for?" Athena asked her rival. "Shouldn't you be gone by now?"

"I thought I could stop him," Poseidon started, paused, and then continued. "But he's already in Alaska."

"Why is he in Alaska?" Hestia asked curiously.

"I don't know."

Moments of silence washed over them, and for one of the first times ever, Olympus was dead quiet. Until Zeus decided to break it with his loud voice.

"That's ironic actually," Zeus spoke. "Because it seems that one of Hades's skulls are missing. Skeletons have been looking all over the place, all over the world, and even Camp Half Blood. But not Alaska."

"He's the god of death, why is he worrying about one skull?" Hermes asked with a funny look on his face.

"Because that skull was made by Maria di Angelo when she was still alive," Zeus answered.

Hades woke up from his sleep on his throne once he heard his past lover's name. "She used to be alive."

Poseidon looked at Hades in sympathy. "What happened?"

"Zeus killed her."

Poseidon stared at Zeus, who could only look guilty. Hades stared at his younger brother.

"Back to the skull problem," Zeus excused himself pathetically. "So it seems that Perseus has headed to Alaska, where we cannot reach him. And the skeletons haven't found the skull anywhere."

"Are you implying that my son is the thief?" Poseidon roared angrily.

"Possibly," Zeus replied, looking at his brother and hoping he wouldn't kill him.

Poseidon had to be restrained by a few gods to stop him from severely injuring Zeus.

"My son is no thief!" Poseidon continued his rage, and the throne room started shaking.

The part shaking the most was at Zeus's throne, where the king of the gods was now sitting at. Hestia left the hearth and walked over to Poseidon, comforting him.

"It's ok," Hestia whispered comfortingly. "Perseus is no thief."

"Apparently Zeus doesn't think so," Poseidon replied in anger, but his rage went down, until only a mere quake was held.

Hermes looked at Poseidon in sympathy. He knew what it was like for a son to be lost. Except Percy wasn't lost. They knew his location, but couldn't do anything about it. It was Alaska, beyond the gods's power. Nothing could be done until he returned.

Zeus, who had finally gotten his courage backs spoke. "Until the boy returns from Alaska, he will take the blame for Hades's missing skull."

Again, restraints had to be held against Poseidon, who looked angrier than Zeus when his lightning bolt was gone.

"He will not take the blame!" Poseidon shouted angrily. "It is Hades's choice whether he takes the blame or not!"

Poseidon and Zeus both looked at their brother. Hades stared back with his soulless eyes.

"I do not think that Perseus is the thief," Hades spoke, looking at Zeus while saying it.

Zeus looked surprised but recovered quickly. "I am the king of the gods-"

"Who acts like a kindergartener," Poseidon finished for his brother.

Zeus ignored Poseidon and continued. "And I say that the boy takes the blame."

"It is Hades's choice and he says no!"

The other Olympians watched all the Big Three argue. It was like a tennis match, back and forth. Except the tennis match had three players. Back, forth, and left. The pattern continued, and some had enough sense not to look anymore due to dizziness.

"It is my domain, and I say that the boy will not take the blame," Hades spoke again, repeating in a way, what Poseidon said.

But Zeus wouldn't take no for an answer. "I Zeus, king of the gods, hereby swear on the river Styx that until the boy returns, he takes the blame."

Zeus was acting like a pompous fool. Everyone knew that. No one could restrain Poseidon from his rage as he heard the thunder strike outside. He charged at his brother with his battle armor on and with his trident. The gods didn't even get in the way as the god of the sea ran forwards at the king of the gods with his trident pointed at the god of the sky's face.

**A/N: If I got any facts wrong about swearing on the river Styx, please tell me. Thanks for all the support!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians******

Chapter 6

Zeus barely had time to defend himself as Poseidon plunged his trident in his shoulder. Even immortal, the king of the gods could still feel pain, having golden ichor in his veins or not. He clutched his shoulder in pain and glared at the god of the seas in anger.

"What was that for?" Zeus thundered angrily, still glaring.

"That was for blaming my son!" Poseidon replied back angrily, his voice loud like a roar.

"Is this Olympus or a lion zoo?" Hermes muttered to Apollo, who still hadn't fixed Zeus's shoulder yet.

Apollo cracked a smile to his friend's joke. "Both maybe."

Hermes grinned at Apollo, and his friend grinned back. Artemis frowned at the two of them, but proceeded to stay silent for once. It was Athena who broke the two gods's grinning faces.

"Apollo!" Athena yelled at the god of medicine. "Would you stop messing about and help father?"

Apollo took one look at Zeus, and frowned. On one hand, he knew he should help him, but on the other... It really wasn't fair to accuse Percy as the thief. While he was thinking, Athena snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Do it," Athena snapped.

Apollo looked at Hermes helplessly. His friend shrugged an 'I don't know' shrug apologetically. He mouthed a 'sorry," but stood by the god of medicine either way.

"Be like Percy," Hermes suddenly whispered to Apollo a few seconds after.

Apollo got the message immediately and smiled. "Then no. Zeus deserved what he got. Poseidon's right."

Athena had to admit. She didn't expect that one. Her face twisted up in fury, and Apollo shrunk back a bit.

"You. Will. Help. Father." Athena said through gritted teeth. "Now."

"I. Will. Not." Apollo replied in the same way. "No."

Athena looked ready to explode, but kept her calm. She was about to talk again, when Zeus spoke first. Well, yelled first.

"Apollo, heal me now," Zeus yelled at the god of medicine, as the ichor kept on spilling all over the Throne Room.

Apollo was stuck. He had a direct order from the god himself. He looked at Hermes again who winced at him and shrugged. Artemis looked at her brother expectantly. Poseidon just looked proud of him for not taking any options. The anger from the sea god was still there, but less.

Now that Apollo thought about it, all the gods and goddesses were staring at him. He was used to having attention in mortal places, but here, he still wasn't used to it. Eyes of every single color looked at him. Only Hestia had the decency to not look at him while tending her hearth.

"You cannot undo swearing on the River Styx," Hades spoke to Apollo, staring at his eyes. "If that's what you're worried about."

And that set off Poseidon in another round of fury as he turned to Zeus sharply. The king of the gods glared at Hades, who sent a much more intimidating glare back.

Poseidon took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down. _Earthquakes and tsunamis could be happening because of me, _he finally realized. He shut his eyes tight, knowing the Olympians were watching him. When he opened them, most of the anger had left. Most. But not all. He turned to Zeus, still glaring.

"You will be the one telling Camp Half Blood what has happened," Poseidon spoke. "I'm sure they would like to know where their hero is. And I'm also sure that they would like to know the truth."

**In Alaska, with Percy:**

"Come on!" Percy yelled in frustration as he searched deeper into the fire. "Where is it?"

"Not here," a voice spoke up.

Percy was startled, and lost control of the water whips. Fire lashed out, and he could feel heat radiating from his clothes. Speaking of his clothes... They were burning. The son of Poseidon yelped and quickly remade the shield from the puddles of water from the melting the snow.

"It's you again," Percy replied, turning around slowly with his burned clothes.

"Who else could it be?" The attacker said. "One message. The skull is in another area. Still in Alaska, but not here."

"Why don't I just return back home? They don't know about this quest anyway."

"Don't you know? The gods are now arguing." The attacker leaned forwards. "About the missing skull. And Zeus now blames you for it."

And with those words said, Percy now understood the words of the prophecy.

_And you will not take the blame..._

Percy didn't notice when the attacker left him there.

"Oh, and you won't need that jacket," the attacker appeared suddenly as if teleporting. "You need this."

The attacker threw a huge winter jacket towards Percy, and he caught it with surprised arms. He stared at it in confusion, and then saw what it was used for. It looked like a normal winter jacket from the outside, but if you looked closely into it, you could see that underneath, it had a layer of bulletproof material stitched onto it.

Ares would grin at it if he ever saw it. Percy only frowned as he wondered why he would need it. Looking around, he hastily put in on incase anyone opened fire and shot him. You never knew. Then he realized something, Blackjack wasn't here. _So if he isn't here... I'll have to walk.__  
_  
The attacker was gone. Percy knew that when he felt wind rustle at his side. For an entire minute, he was thinking if the attacker was Zeus. With his dramatic entrances and exits, it was hard not to think it was the king of the gods. But then he thought of the agility, and cracked a small grin. He couldn't imagine the king of the gods doing something like that.

"I should've gotten a walking stick," Percy grumbled after he had paused to think for a while.

As if on cue a walking stick lay there, shaped straight, but with tiny bends. The craftsmanship looked like it was from Hera. And that wasn't a compliment. Twigs stood out, sticking out like hands for a snowman. Even leaves were attached to it. Percy approached it cautiously, and when it made no signs to do anything, he grabbed it with his hands. He saw the wood and knew it was pine wood. _Was it carved from Thalia's tree in camp?_ He thought with a sickening lurch in his stomach. Only one way to find out.

Percy rummaged in his pockets until he found some drachmas. He used the water on the snow and realized with a start that he needed to make a rainbow, not just water. He needed a sun. But looking out in the endless grey clouds, he doubted the sun would ever come. He would just have to wait until the quest was over to check.

Percy continued walking, trying as hard as he could not to think of the pine wood. He knew that there were loads of pine trees around the world, but after the attacker's threat, it was hard to focus on anything else. What was there to focus on anyway? He didn't exactly feel like looking around and awing over all the scenery. One of his friends could die, because of him. The only thing that was on his mind was the quest.

But all the same, Percy had to admit that the walking stick was handy to use, despite all the twigs and leaves. He wondered how it just appeared there.

"Blue cookies," Percy said suddenly, as a test to see if it would appear or not.

It didn't. Percy's very small grin faded, and it slid back into a frown he had kept up for a while. It was the first day, and his efforts proved to be worthless seeing as he had put a checkpoint somewhere. He had passed that checkpoint twice already.

Percy rummaged inside his bag for something to eat. He found an apple and smiled. It reminded him of Grover. Grover... He might die too if he didn't complete the quest and get home soon. He looked for anything else to eat, but only saw apples. He rubbed his eyes and opened them again. He had packed other food than apples.

For a second, Percy considered that maybe Blackjack had went in his bag and eaten all his food, but that thought went out of his mind quickly. Another considered person was the attacker. The thought didn't leave his mind as he walked on, leaving the apple in his bag to eat for later.

Even though Alaska was big, Percy reached the checkpoint for the fourth time. When he saw the orange cloth, he closed his eyes in frustration. He opened his eyes, and walked towards the cloth slowly. He took the cloth, but it suddenly became transparent as his hand passed right through it. The cloth was fake.

Percy was being fooled. The checkpoints were illusions. He had been going the right direction after all. And for the first time in hours, he smiled.

**A/N: Very sorry for the late update, even though I might have said that a few times. Might have some facts wrong about the IM rainbow. Thanks for all the support!******

**Headintheclouds818: Thanks for telling me, I had my doubts about the facts... And yes, I'll do a chapter of that as well.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 7

Percy vaguely wondered who had been tricking him. _Who had put up those illusions?_ He thought, as his footsteps made tracks in the snow. _The attacker?_ He laughed with no humor. _Always a possibility._ He wondered why though. _Why would the attacker put up illusions?__  
_  
"Framing me for something I didn't do," Percy grumbled. "Gods I hate him."

"You probably do," an amused voice spoke in front.

Percy looked up and saw the attacker, the heavy wind blowing his robes back and forth in a rhythmic pattern. But when he looked closer at the material, he realized that robes could never be that thin or so soft. It had to be a cape. He mentally laughed in realization.

"You've been going the wrong way," the attacker spoke again, not amused this time. "That's why I put up the illusions. You're supposed to go that way."

The attacker vanished in thin air, and Percy didn't even have to close his eyes for any light. A huge arrow suddenly appeared and pointed to his left. He stared at it for a while, shivering from the cold. All he wanted to do was lay down on the beach in camp with Annabeth by his side... Dream talk. He wondered if he ever would get to visit camp again.

Eventually, Percy knew he would have to follow the arrow. He picked it up and stored it in his bag for later. He didn't know if this was a trap or not, he hoped it wasn't. He had already been framed for something he didn't do. That and the fact that he had to find the thing he was framed for the clean his slate. It was like the lightning bolt situation all over again, he realized with a start. Multiple people who could possibly be the attacker now flashed in his mind.

Luke was one possibility. But he was dead, so Percy crossed that person out of his 'suspect list.' The one most suspicious one of all though, he had to admit, was Ares. The god had tricked him before, why not again? _And it would cause a war between the gods with Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon;_ he mused, and then frowned. _I might have been tricked again.__  
_  
The thought occurred to Percy the entire time. _What if I've been tricked...? Again._ _What if it isn't Ares? What if I made a false accusation? _So many questions swirled in his head like a mini whirlpool spinning. Questions, and yet no answers. That's what he hated the most. He sighed and continued his journey through the cold.

**In Olympus:**

"You want me to go to a demigod camp, and tell hem about the traitor-" Zeus barely even finished his sentence.

"Do not call my son a traitor!" Poseidon shouted angrily. "How many times do I have to remind you?"

"You don't have to," Zeus replied, staring at Poseidon. "Until he comes back."

"Drop it," Hades's voice was sharp as he spoke. "I, you, and Poseidon will tell them."

Some of the gods looked surprised at Hades's suggestion, but agreed, even though it wasn't them being asked. They looked at the other two Big Three for approval. Poseidon nodded, approving the idea almost immediately.

Zeus however, was a different matter. He protested against the idea the minute after it was suggested. If the king of the gods were any other god, Ares would definitely call him a coward.

"A council vote," Hestia said quietly, bringing all the Olympians to attention. "Have a council vote, of whether Hades's idea should be done or not. And if Zeus is really worried then his vote counts as two."

Murmurs and protests were spread, but when Athena looked in Hestia's fiery eyes, she saw that Hades's plan would work anyway. The goddess of the hearth just wanted to get Zeus to agree. She smiled in her direction, and she gave a warm smile back, the fire in the hearth growing bigger.

"We will have the vote with three answers," Athena spoke for everyone. "Neutral, yes, or no."

Apollo spoke this time. "All for no?"

Dionysus, Zeus, and Ares were the only ones who put their hands up. Apollo winced, as he saw the king of the gods's enraged face. He hastily spoke again.

"All for neutral?"

Demeter, Hephaestus, Hera, and Artemis all raised their hands. The ones that votes for neutral had their reasons. If they voted for yes or no, a war would be occurred. That and the fact that some didn't really care as much.

"All for yes?"

Poseidon, Hades, Apollo, Hermes, Hestia, Aphrodite, and surprisingly Athena raised their hands. Zeus's face looked ready to explode. Poseidon conjured up a small water ball just incase it did.

"It is decided then," Apollo said wearily. "The Big Three will all go to Camp Half-Blood."

And with that being said, two of the Big Three, Hades and Poseidon flashed out to Camp Half-Blood, leaving only Zeus behind. He had no choice but to follow them reluctantly.  
**  
****In Camp Half-Blood a day before the Big Three are arriving:****  
**  
Annabeth had been worrying for Percy for almost the entire day. She had no idea why he hit the fire pit, or why he wanted to go off to his cabin alone. She admitted, she was hurt. But she thought they could maybe mend things at dinner. But when she came to his cabin, no one was there, except for his things thrown around messily. As if he was packing, she realized with a start.

Of course, Annabeth had to think first. Assuming was never the same as knowing. And Percy always had his things thrown around, she thought with a small smile. _Might as well help him clear up...__  
_  
It was when Annabeth started to go around camp trying to find Percy when she started to worry. She couldn't find him anywhere. Not at the beach, arena, and certainly not in the Ares cabin. She had checked every single cabin there was, but he wasn't there either. She had to tell Chiron now, she knew.

The conch horn blew, and Annabeth hurried back to her cabin. They went off in a line, and sat down. The minute she sacrificed her food, was when she made her way to Chiron. The centaur looked up from his food.

"I can't find Percy," were the first things out of Annabeth's mouth. "I've searched everywhere.

"Go eat your dinner child," Chiron replied kindly. "I'll send a search party out after dinner no need to worry."

"But Chiron, I've already looked all around camp-"

"Maybe he's been moving around a lot. Maybe when you were searching at the beach, he was at the arena."

Annabeth eventually nodded at the statement. She walked back to her table with the eyes of her siblings staring at her. She ignored them, her eyes averted back to her food, and back to the Poseidon table. No Percy. She didn't realize she was cutting her meat fiercely with her dagger instead of the regular knife. The meat was already in half, so she was cutting up the plate. She released the dagger and it fell on the plate with a loud clang.

All the occupants in the pavilion stared over to the Athena table. Or at Annabeth anyway. She stared back, noticing how many broke off the contact and went back to eating.

Chiron sighed as he looked at the Poseidon table. He would have to have the search party soon.

**A/N: This isn't really one of my good chapters, so I'm sorry for the late update, and not one of my best chapters. One question, do they have monsters in Alaska? Hope you all enjoyed it anyway. Thanks for all the support!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 8

"Annabeth," Chiron said gently. "We've searched all night. We can't find him. I suggest we continue in the morning."

It was true. Almost the entire night, and all the head counselors had been searching everywhere to find Percy. But Annabeth refused to give up, even if she wanted to go to sleep badly.

"They can go to sleep if they want. I'll stay up and keep on searching," Annabeth replied, sighing frustratedly.

"No," Chiron responded sternly. "Annabeth there's only a few more hours until we get up, you have to have to get a bit of sleep."

Annabeth wanted to argue, that if Percy was missing, her sleep wasn't exactly her top priority. But it was pointless. If she wanted to search better, she would have a better chance when she at least slept. She sighed and nodded reluctantly, her steps trudging through the grass.

Annabeth arrived in her cabin a few minutes later, moving very slowly as she opened the door. When she opened it, the door creaked. In an instant, all the Athena campers took out their weapons and pointed it at the shadow. She walked into the dim light, and they lowered their weapons. Not even saying a greeting, she walked like a zombie towards her bed and collapsed in it, not even bothering to change.

The Athena campers stared at their head counselor. Annabeth usually always greeted them with a smile or even a 'hello.' So what was wrong? One of them suggested they wake her up.

"Go ahead," Malcolm said. "If you want to end up with a dagger in your neck, go ahead."

The camper became quiet, not wanting to face Annabeth's wrath. No one did. Eventually all of the campers went back to bed, forgetting about the incident quickly.

Annabeth dreamt about Percy and a quest. That he was going to Alaska for some strange reason. She mumbled something and turned to her side. She swore she felt someone look at her, but treasured her sleep in the few hours she had left. The door creaked, and she shot out of bed, seeing a figure in the darkness turn around, and then run away.

Without any second thoughts, Annabeth chased after the figure. It was hard to, since it was nighttime. She didn't even see a tree in front of her. She didn't have time to turn or dodge, as she collided with the tree, hearing a crack, before she fell to the ground, unconscious.

The tree that Annabeth had collided with looked down to the demigod. She winced, and mouthed a sorry, before bringing her to the Big House, knocking the door, and then returning back to the her tree.

Chiron opened the door after he heard the knocks. He looked around, before averting his gaze to the demigod on the steps. He slung Annabeth on his back before bringing her to the infirmary.

Will Solace was sleeping in the infirmary. He wasn't injured, but he had an almost 24/7 job in the infirmary. He was awoken when he heard footsteps. He opened his eyes, his vision returning quickly. He saw Chiron and an unconscious Annabeth. His eyes widened. Whoever managed to knock out the head counselor of the Athena cabin must have been really experienced.

"I think she was running and hit a tree," Chiron explained once he saw Will's astonished look.

Will nodded, now realizing that Annabeth indeed looked like she crashed into an obstacle. He took out a glass and a bottle of nectar. He poured the nectar in the glass and got out one ambrosia square. He shook her awake gently by the shoulders, hoping she would wake up. He did that about five times, until he saw her eyes open.

"Can you open your mouth?" Will asked, once Annabeth's eyes were open.

Annabeth nodded her head on the comfy pillow. She opened her mouth and Will popped the ambrosia square in her mouth. It dissolved, and she swallowed it, enjoying the taste. She looked around the infirmary and realized that Percy wasn't there. And that was when the memories started flooding back to her.

"Chiron," Annabeth spoke, her voice still slightly hoarse. "There was this shadow in my cabin. The door was creaking, and the shadow turned and then ran away. I chased after it, but then I hit a tree."

Chiron nodded, while Will gave Annabeth the glass of nectar. She sipped it slowly.

"I-I think the figure was Percy," Annabeth stumbled over her words. "And I heard a crack. I might have broken something."

Will analyzed Annabeth's moves, and realized she was using her left hand. Her right hand must have been the one broken. He watched the hand a bit more and saw that she didn't even use her right hand, just her left.

"You broke your right hand," Will finally spoke.

Annabeth looked at her right hand and nodded her head still a bit dizzy. Will looked at her and she nodded again. He sighed, held her hand, and then another crack was heard. She winced, and she closed her eyes, taking in all the pain. At least it was fixed.

And that was when three flashes of blinding light, each a different color came outside the infirmary, and onto the pavilion.  
**  
****With Percy, in Alaska: **

It was only a few minutes later, when Percy saw another track of melting snow. He started to run towards the source of the melting snow, and grinned when he saw the flames. However fun it would be to jump in the flames and get some heat from the warmth, the temptation stopped when he remembered the volcano incident. His grin faded to uncertainty.

Percy searched around for more melting snow. He saw that there were sources of water in them. He rose up all the water and extinguished all the flames with a single water blobs. When sizzles and smoke started to arise, he walked in the burned snow area, searching for the skull desperately. No sign of it. A noise was heard behind him. He turned around, expecting the attacker.

No sign of the attacker either. But Percy saw something else. Telekhines. At least a few of them. He licked his lips nervously. One telekhine, he was ok. Two telekhines, still doable. Three telekhines, tricky. But four telekhines, were tough.

And yet, Percy didn't seem fazed as he ran at the monsters with Riptide in his hand with a battle cry. The telekhines snarled, snuffing out the demigod with their snouts, looking very unthreatening.

Percy focused on one of them first. He ran towards the first one and with one slash, golden monster dust fell to the ground like fairy dust sprinkling over cupcakes in a flurry. He turned around and saw three more opponents.

The second telekhine started to come forwards first. Percy used Riptide and brought the sword down on its head. More monster dust. He sneezed, and wondered where their manners were when they didn't say 'bless you.'

The third and fourth telekhine charged at the same time, one of them managing to get blood on Percy's shoulder. His good arm, and now it had blood running from it. He placed his sword diagonally and turned around, like doing a wall run on the ground. His sword was raised, as he ran with lots of speed. In only a few minutes, monster dust was all around him, with no sign of anymore monsters.

Percy sneezed again. "Bless me," he muttered to himself, as he capped Riptide.

**A/N: I seem to have a lot of late updates with this story, so I'm really sorry about that. Hope you liked this chapter, I think it might have been better than the other one. Thanks for all the support, and all the information!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 9

After Percy capped Riptide, he walked back to the extinguished fire, and continued his searching. The fire that had once been crackling with heat was now just water blobs on the ground. The trail went on for a couple of meters before it stopped abruptly, showing the end of the road.

It was a cliff. Percy could clearly see the bottom was far away. He swallowed nervously. Was he very high up to be blasted by Zeus? Then he remembered that this was Alaska, the gods couldn't really do anything in the country.

_Talking about the bottom,_ Percy thought, looking down once again. _Is that orange I see...?_ He groaned as he thought about it again. _Either that, or a camp T-shirt, which means that someone's coming to save me and die...__  
_  
Erasing that thought out of his head, Percy pulled his head back up from the cliff. There was a chance that the skull was down there but it was far down, he could die, or be severely injured...

"You know why you keep failing to find the skull?" A quiet voice asked.

Percy turned around, his heart hammering in his chest. He breathed out once he saw it was the attacker.

The attacker responded to his own question, making Percy wonder why he ever asked the question in the first place.

"It's because the skull is in a flame," the attacker answered. "If you extinguish the flames, then the skull won't be there."

"So I just walk in the fire without any water helping me?" Percy asked, bemused.

Nodding, the attacker vanished, leaving Percy with the _'the attacker is Zeus' _idea in his mind again. The thought vanished along with the attacker though, leaving him with more questions and thoughts. He thought it would be painful, walking through the fire.

It was just a thought however. And reality hurts more than just a thought. Mix that thought along with the thought of how to get down, and you get one really painful, sore body in the end.

Percy searched inside his bag for any items that might help him get down.

Nothing.

Which usually meant that either people would give up, or go down rock climbing style. And the son of Poseidon would most definitely not give up. The hard way then.

Rock climbing for Percy was one of the hardest activities in camp. There were others too, but rock climbing was one of them. And that was for going up. He didn't exactly want to see the results of him going down, with the possible option of death to go with that if he made on wrong move or slipped.

A nonexistent light bulb went of in his head. For a second, Percy remembered his Achilles Heel. It turned off after he also remembered the part where he got attacked.

Just to make sure, however, he touched the part on his back where his Achilles Heel used to be. No spark or tingle erupted when he felt it. It was officially and truly gone.

_Great, _Percy thought sarcastically, before he sat down on the edge of the cliff, studying where he would place his foot first. He didn't see many places, all of them looked slippery and a very bad grip.

And then he saw it, a place where he could put his foot. It consisted of two big rocks that were slightly squashed together. Bits of frost were attached to them, but nothing too major.

_Is it possible?_ Percy thought as he fished an apple out of his bag. _Could I actually climb down...?__  
_  
It would be possible but hard. There were some rocks leading a miraculous trail all the way down, but still, it would be tough. He shivered as a cold blast of wind hit him. He nearly fell down the edge, but he steadied himself quickly.

_Anything for family,_ Percy thought, as he took one bite into his apple, put it back in his bag and started climbing down.

**In Camp Half-Blood: ****  
**  
Flashes of light either meant the Stolls or the gods. But seeing as the Stolls were in the infirmary because of a prank that backfired on them, it had to be the gods.

"I'll see who it is," Chiron said, already going out the door. "You stay here and rest."

Annabeth didn't protest as she watched her mentor gallop out the doorway, his bow and arrow already in his hands. She guessed by the colors that the Big Three might have come, no matter how incredulous that idea was.

Will was currently trying to figure out how to turn the Stolls' hair back to its natural color, when he heard loud galloping.

"Children," Chiron announced rather hurriedly. "Gather all the campers and bring them to the dining pavilion. The Big Three are here, and they have an announcement to make."

And with those words being spoken, Chiron left, leaving all the conscious campers in the infirmary wondering what the Big Three had to say.

Annabeth began sitting up. "I'm getting my siblings."

Will ran over to her and pushed her back down. "You need to rest."

"Didn't you hear what Chiron said?"

"I have ears."

Annabeth refused to lie back down again. "I'm doing what Chiron says, and I suggest you call your siblings as well."

Eventually, after taking out her dagger and lots of glaring, Annabeth decided to make a run for it after lying down. When she saw that Will was getting out some nectar, she pulled away the blankets silently, and ran away discreetly, the son of Apollo not even noticing anything.

The first thing Annabeth did when she got out the door was lean on the railings. She felt dizziness spread through her and she waited for it to go away, before she continued running to her cabin.

This time, Annabeth made sure to look where she was going. She ran carefully, speeding in and out of the trees instead of into the trees. She spotted her cabin, and started putting on more speed, curious of why all of the Big Three were here. Usually it was Hermes who delivered all of the messages.

"Everyone to the pavilion," Annabeth spoke once she arrived at her cabin and went inside. "Apparently the Big Three have an announcement to make."

**A/N: Hope all of you enjoyed this chapter, even though it was kind of short. Thanks for all the support, I appreciate it!******

** : You'll find out in the next chapter, don't worry.****  
**


	11. Chapter 10

******Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 10  
**  
****In the pavilion at Camp Half-Blood:****  
**  
"What is taking them so long?" Zeus grumbled irritably as he glanced at his watch.

"Patience brother," Poseidon responded wearily, stressed over the mysterious case of his son. "Patience."

The lord of the dead said nothing, as he waited rather impatiently for all the campers to arrive. Hades couldn't help but wonder about his missing skull. He was certain it wasn't Percy, it wasn't like him to do so. _It had to be someone else then, someone who had the guts to steal Maria's skull,_ he thought.

"That's it," Zeus finally snapped. He summoned his lightning bolt, and raised it in the air. "IF YOU DON'T COME TO THE PAVILION RIGHT NOW, I WILL-"

"SILENCE!" Hades demanded furiously. "Just wait."

Zeus once again opened his mouth to speak, but someone had already beaten him to it.

"Lord Zeus, Poseidon, Hades," Chiron bowed, and the campers followed the centaur's wise decision.

"We have an announcement to make," Poseidon spoke, after the centaur had. He glanced at his youngest brother, who was scowling at him. "It's about my son."

A certain daughter of Athena perked up at this. She sat up a little taller on the bench she was sitting on to listen more intently.

"Percy is in Alaska," Poseidon continued, before stopping his tiny speech there.

Murmurs spread out like wood catching fire, and Annabeth wondered what Percy was doing there. She glanced at the Big Three again more closely, noticing Poseidon's rage towards Zeus, and the king of the gods once or twice acting nervous. Only the lord of the dead- Hades stood still like a statue, seemingly upset about something, she noted.

"Silence," was all Hades had to say, before everyone became quiet and still. "Ironically, the skull has been missing from my domain. And before anyone thinks that I have tons of skulls-"

"Agreed," Zeus muttered, glancing at his brother.

Glaring, Hades continued. "It is the skull that Maria di Angelo has made for me."

Nico, who had only been listening a quarter to what the Big Three had to say, now sat up. He knew how special his mother was to his father, as he saw some campers snickering. He glared at all of the coldly- and when they felt a pair of eyes on them, they turned around and got greeted by the cold black eyes, that was narrowed in a glare.

"And Zeus thinks that Perseus Jackson has stolen it, and is hiding away in Alaska," Hades concluded, before sending a dark look towards his brother.

The lack of any type of reaction surprised the Big Three, until it happened: the protests. Any type of rumors. The murmurs. And of course, the campers who stood up and decided that saying something to the Big Three right at the moment would be a great idea.

"And why," Thalia reasoned, but still spitting her words out while staring at her father, "would you think that?"

"It all makes sense," Zeus fought back, without making any sense at all. "The skull goes missing at the same time that boy goes to Alaska. Think about it."

"I thought about it all the way here," Poseidon responded with a small hint of humor in his voice. "And it doesn't make any sense at all. Even Hades doesn't blame my son."

Annabeth wasn't one to offend to gods- that was her boyfriend's job after all. However, seeing as Zeus was blaming Percy for stealing the skull, she couldn't resist adding to the noise. She felt anger rise up against her, as she saw the king of the skies just stand there, as if he didn't care. Knowing his attitude, he probably didn't.

"If I may," Annabeth called out, her voice ringing out in the pavilion. Everyone turned towards the sound and saw the daughter of Athena stand up. "Percy's fatal flaw is loyalty, so why would he do that? Maybe he's on a quest. He wouldn't do that. The only time he stole something was because of a prank, but he got caught at the first few seconds he even attempted it."

Laughter rang out throughout the crowd, and even Annabeth managed a small smile.

"So all I'm saying is that it wouldn't make sense that Percy stole the skull," Annabeth continued, her grey eyed gaze landing on Zeus. "And that I know he isn't the thief. Someone else must have done it."

"My daughter is right," a new unfamiliar voice joined in the discussion.

"Athena?" Poseidon said incredulously. "What are you doing here?

Ignoring the ruler of the seas, Athena continued. "It is not likely that Perseus has stolen the skull. His fatal flaw is loyalty after all. My best guess is that someone has framed him, and threatened him that if he didn't do it, then a friend or family member will die. And that's where his fatal flaw comes in."

Clapping could be heard from all around. It seemed that the entire Olympian council had decided to nestle around camp. Their children swallowed nervously, not used to having the arrangement like this.

"Athena is right," Artemis agreed. "Even though I don't like men, it does not seem like him to do so."

"We have to issue a quest," Clarisse said roughly. "To find that little punk."

"No quests shall be issued. We will have to wait for him to return. Nothing else," Athena's gaze landed on her daughter, and a ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "Knowing you, I know you will sneak out and look for him anyway."

Thalia grinned as she saw her best friend's face as she looked sheepish and incredulous at the same time. _Only Annabeth could manage a look like that._ _In addition,_ she thought fondly. _Only Percy could accept the threat and go on a quest like that._

"Therefore, without Chiron or any of the gods or goddesses permission, no one is allowed to leave camp until Perseus comes back. My decision is final."

"Owly is right," Ares spoke up, before saying the next sentence with scorn. "This is the punk's quest. You would be endangering yourself and him if you even went out there."

"Owly," Hermes snorted, before turning to his best friend Apollo. "Add that name to the nickname list for Athena will you?"

The sun god just nodded as he took out a strange looking notepad, and scribbled the name 'Owly' on it hurriedly. He placed the notepad back in his pocket and started looking around with a bright smile on his face.

"No one gets out, I agree. I don't want Skullz over here to deal with any more bodies, the traffic is already terrible-"

"Actually," 'Skullz' added in his own two cents. "It's improved."

"And we don't need any more to mess it up," Apollo finished.

"True," Hades admitted, casting dark looks over the demigods that dared to go on the forbidden quest.

And with those words being spoken, all the Olympians flashed out, all of them leaving different lights as they left.

Malcolm turned to his half-sister, who was currently staring at the Poseidon cabin. "Are you going to sneak out?"

"I'm going to try at least," Annabeth answered as she gave her half-brother a genuine smile. "I have to. He went on a quest to save me. I guess it's finally time to repay the favor."  
**  
****A/N: Sorry for the late update, I was busy with other things. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter as well. Also, can you IM people in Alaska? Thanks for all the support, I really appreciate it.**


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 11

Trying to whistle for a Pegasus, and balancing the bag that was slipping off his shoulder was never an easy thing to do when mountain climbing down a very steep cliff. Sure he had seen the Stolls survive eating chips out of a bag, while climbing the wall with lava spewing out of it every few seconds, but this was different case.

At least in Camp Half-Blood you would survive, and wake up in the infirmary.

Here, out in Alaska, an infirmary was miles away. If you fell of the mountain now, he would be dead the second he was on the ground. That, and the joyous fact that his friends would probably think he was stupid enough to believe the attacker.

_They would never know the real reason,_ Percy mused as he planned his next move carefully. Planning was usually Annabeth's move, but he didn't have time to play on instinct. It was a life or death situation after all. One wrong move and he was dead.

Taking deep breaths, Percy tried to adjust the shouldering for his bag. He was carrying it like how girls carry handbags, but he didn't care if he looked like a sissy or not- survival over reputation. He took a huge risk by glancing backwards, seeing if Blackjack might have heard him.

No luck. The only sights he could see were the heavy fog and the snow that was lightly falling on the ground. Mountains were spread out everywhere, he noted, before he immediately focused his vision back on what he was climbing.

"Gods help me," Percy mumbled under his frosty breath as he searched for his next move.

For one second, Percy glanced down. His eyes widened as he saw how high up he was. He could barely even see the bottom- if there even was one. He considered going back up again, but when his eyes focused on the cliff he had climbed down on, he winced.

_Checking in was always easier than checking out, _Percy thought glumly as his bag started slipping from his shoulder again. He moved his shoulder to try and get the bag up again, but apparently he had made the wrong move.

The bag started sliding down all the way to his elbow. It came to a sudden halt, and Percy was reminded of one of those girls who carried their handbags that way.

It was the rock that brought Percy back to reality. He watched closely as a sort of boulder like rock had just rolled off the cliff and was now banging on the mountain he was climbing on.

Snow and bits of rubble started to crumble down like little crumbs being fed to pigeons. Percy found himself making a big mistake. He shouldn't have even thought about climbing down. If he was still up there, deciding and making his decision, then maybe he wouldn't have found himself falling.

The support of the rock he had placed his footing on was part of the list of things that crumbled down. Percy gripped his fingers tighter onto the only thing he could hold on, which was another rock that was within his reach. He hadn't even made his second move, and yet- the cliff was already too far away for his reach.

That could be considered a good and bad thing. Good, because the edge itself was starting to break apart for no apparent reason and that the bits and pieces might not hit him. And bad, because then any thought of going back up again was now hopeless.

Words couldn't describe what he was feeling right now. Percy felt like there was a whirlpool or a vortex at the bottom as he gazed at the crumbling snow and boulders that would have made good grips. He felt his fingers starting to slip at the sweat that was starting to build up.

He had to make another move.

Without even knowing of what was happening, the foot supporting rock broke apart and fell. Percy gave a yell of desperation as his feet dangled in the air loosely. He could feel the harsh wind blow as his hair blew around furiously in the air. It got all over his eyes, and for a few terrifying seconds, he couldn't see.

Blackness danced in the vision, but he knew it was just his dark black hair that was covering up his eyesight. He couldn't even move his hands, seeing as they were the only things that were keeping him alive right at the moment.

Impossible was one word to describe that moment. Percy tried to regain his footing on something, but the only thing he could find was the open air. They hung uselessly as the wind continued blowing severely.

And suddenly, his clammy hands lost its grip. He screamed as he fell into the vast emptiness of Alaska, his yell echoing into the silence. He struggled as his ADHD kept him alive.

Falling was an experience that he had many times: falling of the lava climbing wall, off the roof of the Big House, and probably many more. This however- this was something different.

Here, it was miles before you even landed on the ground- and without the curse of Achilles, he could forget all about trying to survive. That, and the fact that even if he did manage to keep his eyes open until he reached the bottom, the fire would probably burn him alive.

The thought of being burned alive sparked something in Percy's mind. He remembered the burning sensation when he bathed in the River Styx and winced. It was like that sensation all over again.

The ADHD made the falling more slowly than it was faster, which was good, because then Percy would have more time. He focused on the snow he had laid his eyes on the past few seconds and willed it to come forwards to his falling figure.

Surprisingly, as if it were a real person, it obeyed, and Percy's eyes widened in surprise for a slight second before hastily resuming what he was trying to do.

Anyone watching the scene would have absolutely no idea of what Percy was trying to do. Even the demigod himself didn't know if his plan would work or not. He made all the water molecules come out of the snow, but even when it did, he knew water wouldn't be strong enough.

He needed ice to complete his crazy idea. He could actually feel the heat and warmth fill his body by now. The fire and bottom were really close. Percy's mind filled with panic and desperation, but the images the Fates had given him in the Throne Room proved him wrong. That he actually might not die and grow old.

The thought filled him with newfound energy and hope. The arc of water that was in his hands expanded into a more thinner, and solid figure, as it shaped into crystalline ice.

More water from all around the demigod got added as he made his ice skis thicker and safer. He didn't have those feet attachments that skis always came with, but he was pretty sure that he didn't need them.

Two long skiing sticks were also made, and he marveled at the amount of power he had. His astonishment didn't last long as reality barked in his face as the flames touched his hand.

The son of Poseidon gritted his teeth, gripped the sticks and tried to adjust his footing on the skis. When he finally got slightly comfortable, he directed himself to the right to barely avoid the fire that nearly touched him. He was too busy avoiding the flames, which he completely forgot about the foot attachment that he hadn't applied.

A weirdly shaped white object was right in front of him. He jumped, but then remembered about his skis. He turned around to look at the burning skis, and when he turned back forwards again, he collided with the object, and fell backwards on the ground, clearly unconscious.

Meanwhile the attacker watched the entire scene like it was a TV. He gazed at the demigod in a hint of surprise as he realized that Percy had survived and had actually found the skull. He walked forwards to the son of Poseidon and snapped his fingers.

In only a few seconds, Percy and the skull disappeared. The attacker stared at the spot the demigod was only a second ago. He sighed as he teleported away, leaving no hint that he was even there in the first place.  
**  
****A/N: Really sorry for the late update- school has been making it harder for me to write. I don't know if I got any facts wrong about the skis, or the mountain climbing. Also, thanks for all the information, but I changed the plot slightly- cutting the quest short. Thanks for all the support!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 12

The pavilion was noisy as people hurried to catch up with their daily activities. The children of Apollo hurried to the infirmary to do their jobs, while others would just sit in their table, staring off into space as if they couldn't believe what had happened.

"Everyone!" Chiron raised his voice to be heard all throughout the heavy chatter that was happening. "Continue with your activi-"

"CHIRON!" Will shouted loudly, hastily running over to the startled centaur. Once he arrived and unwillingly captured everyone's attention, he panted and spoke again in a more even tone. "Percy's... In... The... Infirmary..."

Reactions and murmurs sprung up, while Annabeth didn't hesitate to join the centaur as they ran, or in Chiron's case, gallop to the infirmary. Some people who knew Percy well would come as well, enlarging the group as more people came.

"What happened?" Annabeth questioned Will as she sprinted alongside the healer.

"I don't know," Will responded. "First I was going to the infirmary, and then all of a sudden, Percy was laying in one of the beds."

"Is he okay?"

"See for yourself."

Annabeth saw Percy immediately. He was just laying there, his eyes closed, and a troubled expression on his face. He was wearing a winter jacket that she didn't even know he had. A huge bruise was on his forehead and he seemed to have several scars- where he got them, she didn't even know.

And then it hit her, like a stone wall moving by itself to cause her pain. His curse of Achilles was gone. Her breath hitched up as she rushed forward to Percy, questions bombarding her head like a whirlpool.

"I thought he was supposed to have the curse of Achilles?" Grover asked cluelessly.

"Apparently he lost it," Annabeth murmured.

"You don't just lose the curse of Achilles like that!" Nico exclaimed, his eyes scrunching up on confusion.

"Alright!" Chiron demanded, grabbing everyone's attention. "Settle down. Anyone who isn't a child of Apollo or a healer please let yourself out of the infirmary. Perseus's, ah, condition should be attended to."

The daughter of Athena pulled up a chair and watched from the sidelines, refusing to leave Percy's side. Nobody even bothered to argue, knowing that she wouldn't move no matter what the situation.

"Um, Chiron?" Kayla, a daughter of Apollo asked questionably, glancing at the centaur. "There seems to be quite a lot of blood coming from his back..."

The centaur sighed. "Did you try pouring nectar on it, or feeding him ambrosia?"

"Unfortunately we can only do that when he's awake," Kayla answered. "But since he's still unconscious, we can't really do anything about that. And..." She took a quick look at Annabeth, who was staring back. "We have to take off his winter jacket and shirt to see where the blood is coming from and how bad the wound is."

The heroine of Olympus snorted. She knew that most people thought she would get jealous over something like that. Truth was, she wouldn't. They needed to check his wounds, absolutely fine. _Now if they start ogling though, _she thought, not even letting the thought finish, and deciding that she would stick with just looking like she did before.

A small stirring noise was heard, as the children of Apollo nearly jumped up in shock. Percy's closed eyes opened as he stared around the room, clearly startled by the change of setting.

"Camp Half-Blood," Percy whispered, as of he'd never thought he'd come back again.

"Percy?" Annabeth's voice rang out, while holding a certain shake to it. She walked forwards, abandoning the chair she was sitting on.

The son of Poseidon seemed to realize that people were around him for the first time. He glanced around and saw Annabeth. His face lit up in a bright smile, as her face lit up like a set of Christmas lights.

"Where've you been?" Annabeth asked curiously.

He was stuck for words. He didn't know what to do, as more campers started to come and join in the conversation. He recalled his memory to the attacker's words, and went on shutdown mode, as his mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. How ironic.

"And how'd you lose the curse of Achilles?" Nico added in incredulously, wanting to know.

"I-I don't know," Percy mumbled, feeling stupid as strange looks passed his way.

Truthfully, he actually didn't know. Sure, the attacker had told him about the 'QWERTY' thing, but he already yelled when he had fallen down, or rock climbed down the mountain. He had heard himself clearly. _So the question of how the poison works still remains..._Percy mused.

"For whisky's sake, what is going on here?!" Mr. D demanded, making most people jump as they looked at the camp director.

"It seems that Percy Jackson has returned," Chiron responded evenly.

The camp director was not happy. He flashed out without warning, and others assumed that he was going to alert the other Olympians. Chiron sighed deeply, a troubled expression on his face.

"Everyone please get out of the infirmary, except for those who really need to stay," Chiron's gaze landed on Annabeth, but she didn't notice.

The crowd of campers left, and soon, only few people remained. Thalia and Nico were included in the room, looking around intimately as if saying 'you got a problem with that?' Nobody did.

"Do you have the skull?" Chiron asked Percy, hoping to the gods that he did.

"Um..." Percy trailed off, remembering his time in Alaska, and vaguely recalled bumping into a hard object that had a really weird shape. "I don't know."

"How can you not know?!" Annabeth nearly yelled. "There's a yes, and no."

"And then there's a maybe," Thalia pointed out.

"That's not the point-"

"I banged my head on something, okay?" Percy said, putting the conversations to a stop, rubbing his head in effect. "Don't expect me to remember anything."

_Thank gods; I have that excuse, _Percy thought.

'You can tell them if you like' a voice spoke in Percy's mind. He yelped slightly, jumping up nervously. People stared at him like he was crazy, but at the moment, he didn't care. 'If you want them to die that is,' the voice that was now the attacker chuckled darkly.

"Now he can try taking nectar and ambrosia!" A child of Apollo said quickly, taking out the bottle and a small bag of the gods' food.

"Doesn't work," Percy responded immediately without thinking, shaking his head.

"What exactly happened child?" Chiron asked, knowing that the demigod hadn't spoken the entire truth yet.

A large source of light beamed all throughout the infirmary of all different colors.

"Yes, Perseus," a new voice joined in, when the light died down. "What exactly happened?"

Zeus and all the other Olympians, most of which had been forced to come, were standing there.

Percy's eyes widened slightly while the occupants in the room hurried to bow. He was lying down on the infirmary bed awkwardly, and only one thing came through his mind to speak.

"Do I have to bow?" Percy asked, ignoring the few quiet gasps. "Because seeing as I'm injured, and I would fall flat on my face, it would be rather awkward..."

**A/N: I'm really sorry for the late update, but now my stories are more settled, so I'm going to try and hopefully be updating sooner. The length came out rather short, so I apologize. Thanks for all the support!**

**Hazle (Guest): Just realized the same thing as well, and thanks for pointing that out. You'll see in the upcoming chapters.**


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 13

"PERSEUS JACKSON!" Zeus roared, banging his lightning bolt on the Camp Half-Blood infirmary. He breathed and exhaled out deeply before calming down. "Where is the skull?!"

_Check under the bed.__  
_  
"Uh... Under the bed?" Percy guessed, hoping to the gods that Zeus wouldn't find a decapitated head under the bed.

Disgruntled, Zeus made Hermes do it. The messenger god bit back a smirk and crouched down, checking under the bed to see if he could find anything.

A surprised noise, a grab, and a head knock were what it took to get the skull out from the bed. Hermes stood up straight, the skull looking quite old, but it was polished neatly, as if Hades had cleaned it everyday (which he probably had.)

Even Zeus or Poseidon couldn't be able to boast about how 'someone made something better than that,' because in reality, almost no one could. Hades was also in the infirmary, reaching over to the skull and gently grabbing it into his hands. The god's face broke his serious expression for a while, to go in a cheerful and longing look.

_A thank you would be nice. After all, the poison didn't affect you when you yelled did it? And I told you where the skull was.___

"You can talk in my head now?" Percy muttered, almost silently, not wanting anyone to hear him.

_I'm talking to you right now am I not?_

"I guess. Tha-"

"Who the hell are you muttering to?" Thalia demanded, sitting down next to her cousin.

"No one," the son of Poseidon spoke clearly, mentally doing a face-palm.

A lingering look towards Percy, and Thalia snorted- at the same time letting it go.

"Son!" Poseidon boomed, striding forwards with a fatherly smile on his tanned face.

The other demigods that were next to Percy moved a little to make space for the Olympian. The god sat down next to the bed and hugged his son.

Thalia watched with unwavering eyes, glancing back towards her father and the reunion. A pang of jealously went through her, and she closed her eyes, only one thought going through her mind. _Why can't Zeus do that after I returned back to the land of the living?__  
_  
"I'm glad you're alright Percy," Poseidon spoke, feeling happiness.

"Me too," Percy responded, surprised that his father would show his hugging in front of everyone.

_And I'm also glad,_ Annabeth thought to herself silently, a bright smile on her face- unlike some of the gods like Ares and Dionysus. She couldn't help but feel giddy with excitement.

"What had happened Perseus?" Athena, curious as ever, asked.

_Tell them about the quest. No one will die. I swear on the River Styx. Just as long as you don't tell anything about the poison. Naughty...__  
_  
Thunder rumbled, and a small smile that wasn't there in the first place appeared on Percy's face. He nodded and opened his mouth to speak.

"I went to Alaska, retrieved the skull, went rock climbing down a snowy mountain with rocks, skiing down it the last few minutes, found the skull and here I am," Percy explained as if he had limited vocabulary.

"You skied down a climbing mountain?!" Annabeth asked incredulously, forgetting about her silence for a minute. "How high up was the mountain from your destination?"

"Higher than the climbing lava wall here," Percy responded, sending a reassuring smile towards the daughter of Athena.

Said person however, was not reassured at all. "Why didn't you tell anyone?! We could have organized a proper quest of a trio and gotten a prophecy!"

Percy's temper was short. He was not having a good day at all. He had just gotten back from a dangerous quest in Alaska without anyone knowing. All the bruises and scars were there to prove it. He had gotten the skull for which Hades was still admiring and clutching in the god's hands. And on top of that, his back still hurt like hell.

"I suppose I should thank you Jackson," Hades spoke gratefully at the wrong timing.

"Welcome," Percy nodded in the god's direction.

A searing pain of heat and feeling like someone worse than death, Percy forced a smile on his face as he got stares from every direction. He felt his back gingerly; touching it and feeling a substance trickle down his back. It wasn't water.

_Watch out Jackson, the poison is still in place. One more yell? Tough luck.__  
_  
Blood probably.

"You still haven't answered the question," Nico persisted. "What happened to your Achilles heel?"

"I think I lost it," Percy muttered, fidgeting with his hands.

"Yeah, no shit, we can all see that," Thalia grumbled. "Death Breath wants to know how."

_I think I might have changed my mind. Tell them! Tell them!__  
_  
"Poison," the son of Poseidon stated clearly. "QWERTY. Stands for 'Quarantined waters in eligible rats through yelling.' Don't laugh."  
_  
__Naughty naughty... Testing your loyalty. Told them without a second thought. Did I swear on the River Styx that I wouldn't harm them?__  
_  
"No," Percy breathed out, his eyes closing as his fists clenched. His mouth set in a straight line. "How could I be so stupid?"  
_  
__Oh well. Too late to tell them lies now. Someone has to die. Sooner or later. You'll be seeing the corpse in the morning.__  
_  
"Kill me instead," Percy pleaded, not caring if all the Olympians plus the many campers were watching him. He was sitting upright, wearing the same clothes of when he was in Alaska. He was currently rocking back and forth, while Poseidon didn't have a clue of what was going on. "Don't kill them."

Most of them didn't take Percy's statement seriously. Laughter and goofy grins shone in the infirmary, ignoring how the son of Poseidon was acting.

"QWERTY?" Athena asked, feeling disgruntled of not knowing something. "I've never heard of that poison before."

Everyone proceeded to shut up then. If Athena didn't know what it was, then something was wrong. Very wrong.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Percy cursed, damning himself.

"Percy?" Annabeth asked gently, clearly worried. She touched his shoulder carefully. "Are you okay?"

Percy's head was in his lap as he ignored the gesture that was meant to be comforting. He ignored the area around him. It was like all links of the outside world was cut off. The only thing that popped up in his head was his friends' dead bodies. Thalia, Nico, hell even Chiron. Annabeth. Grover. Clarisse.

Shivering. That was all he did. He shuddered as he saw the gruesome pictures in his head. Decapitation. Amputation. Death...

"What's wrong with him?" Katie asked, with panic in her voice.

Faint voices rang out in his ears.

"Don't kill them, kill me, please," Percy chanted, feeling like he had lost the Titan War.

Blood streamed out and visions of the same two people blurred, as Percy looked at his two hands. The blood loss was making him dizzy. The healers were going crazy in the infirmary, grabbing a bunch of random items. Apollo was shouting orders, shaking Percy, and telling him to stay awake.

"We need to bring him to the Olympus infirmary!" Apollo shouted.

"EVERYONE GET OUT!" Poseidon roared loudly, as the ground shook a little.

Frantic campers made their way to the door, while only some stayed.

"OUT! ALL OF YOU!" Poseidon demanded, shooing out the demigods that helped out on the Titan War.

His eyes flickered open and closed, and saw more made-up images. In the entire ruckus however, he completely forgot about the one person he treasured the most, which could almost seem impossible. Out of sight out of mind they say.

And that person was the exact one the attacker was targeting for.  
**  
****A/N: Incredibly sorry for the late update! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for all the support!******

**opticalzero: What do you mean by that?****  
**


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 14

Sally Jackson was currently in a state of slight trauma. Almost anyone would if their son would have a large gash on their back. She sighed as she sat down on the couch, clearly exhausted of it all.

"Sally Jackson?" A strange voice asked.

Said person spun around, startled and slightly frightened of the Grim Reaper type person that was standing in front of her. And then her battle instincts she might or might not have gotten from her son by the daily monster visits that happened randomly.

Adrenaline pumped in her veins, as she proceeded to run towards the kitchen and grab the nearest and sharpest knife she could find. As she grasped the handle, she spun around once again, her eyes flashing.

"I don't want to hurt you," 'Grim Reaper' dude responded, his voice calm.

"Then tell me," Sally replied, the knife still so ferociously in her grip. "Why do you have a samurai sword strapped to your back, a knife sheathed in your 'emergency spiked belt,' and a .22 Glock 'hidden' in you hood?"

"You have sharp eyes," the attacker responded, slightly troubled. "Do you have any coffee?"

"Over there," the mother answered, shrugging her shoulders to the direction of the coffee machine.

"Thanks."

The attacker walked over to the counter of the kitchen casually, got out a cup from the small cupboard and poured himself the coffee he had asked for. Sally watched the 'Grim Reaper' sip the warm caffeine drink carefully. Every single movement he made, she watched with her sharp eyes.

"Sally..." The attacker sighed deeply, although the action couldn't be seen by the shadows under his hood like an assassin. "Your son loves you very much."

Sally's eyes narrowed, and widened at the same time. A strange combination. "What's the reason for all this?"

"Just so you should know."

And with those words being said, the attacker took out a syringe gun and fired one shot. Sally's eyes widened, as the syringe hit her, a clear substance inside. She fell to the ground without much movement, and she lay motionless on the asphalt.

"Spider poison," the attacker spoke quietly, walking forwards and removing the syringe, which already had most of it in Sally's system. He took one last sip of his warm coffee and let the mug fall to the floor with a crash as he teleported away.

**In the Camp Half-Blood infirmary:**

"Annabeth," Athena called out from the chaotic infirmary. Her daughter spun around to be met by her mother. "You'll have to wait to see him. We're going to teleport him to Olympus, you cannot go and interfere."

The daughter of wisdom's eyes was worrisome, but she nodded, knowing it was for the best.

"NOW!" Poseidon bellowed, and all the Olympians bar the sea god and Apollo teleported away. He looked at his fellow comrade and nodded, holding the bed his son was on, as he teleported away along with the sun god.

Annabeth watched the sea breeze and sunshine just blow away for a second as she opened her eyes. She could see everyone had already left, and that she was the only one in the infirmary. Compared to only just ten seconds ago, it was tranquil and quiet. But tranquil was anything she was feeling right now.

Calling her depressed or low-spirited were not the words to describe, Annabeth Chase, but that was what she felt like. Feeling low-spirited, while at the same time attempting to be optimistic wasn't exactly the best plan. She shut her eyes tightly, and sat down on an old wooden chair in the infirmary.

She would not cry.  
**  
****In Olympus:****  
**  
"Apollo what's happening?" Zeus asked loudly, but it seemed more like a demand.

"Don't talk for a minute," Apollo silenced his father, and he placed two fingers on both sides of Percy's forehead.

Before the king of the gods even tried to protest, Poseidon glared at his younger brother, if he even dared open his mouth. Apollo didn't even smile as his mouth closed shut.

The same images that were playing in Percy's mind now played in Apollo's as well. He found himself flinching as he saw what the son of Poseidon had faced in the last week up to now.

A minute passed, and even Zeus was wise enough not to comment that a minute had already passed. The clock began ticking silently, and the sun god's facial expression changed every few second. Never a smile. Never a laugh. His expression remained mostly solemn all throughout.

Another minute. Time ticked on, and the current Olympians in the room waited rather impatiently, as they watched Apollo watch Percy who was watching the memories in his mind.

And then, finally, it was over.

"He's going to be alright," Apollo stated, taking a deep breath before releasing it. "He's just going through some shock."

"Why?" Poseidon questioned, clearly worried for his son.

The sun god remembered the beginning of the memory, when the attacker was talking. "From getting the skull. He's having some flashbacks, nothing too major don't worry."

But Poseidon wasn't one to give up so easily. "What type of flashbacks?"

"When he went to Alaska to retrieve the skull remem-"

"Perseus is waking up," Artemis said, interrupting her sibling midway.

The son of the sea god was indeed waking up. Percy opened his eyes, squinted through all the sunniness that was in the room, and closed it again. He groaned slightly, for a moment forgetting all that had happened in the last couple of days.

It was quite an awakening.

"You alright Perce?" Apollo asked, waving his hand in front of the demigod's face.

"I'm fine," Percy replied, swatting the unhelpful hand away in one weak gesture.

"Good for you," the sun god replied enthusiastically, making the demigod drink some nectar.

"He needs some water to actually heal him to the fullest," Athena stated wisely, mainly directing it to Poseidon, who nodded in agreement.

With that being said, Poseidon summoned water from a water bottle he kept with him all the time and poured it over his son like extra oil to a burning fire.

"Thanks," Percy said gratefully, feeling refreshened afterwards.

The mighty ruler of the seas just smiled, his sea green eyes twinkling, similar to Christmas lights on a tree.

"Percy," Hermes called out hurriedly, his face worried as he checked the latest news on his phone. "I think you might want to read this."

"I'm dyslexic," Percy responded dryly.

The messenger god sighed, biting his lip, before deciding that he would just read it out loud. "Woman found dead in apartment."

"And what's that got to do with my son Hermes?" Poseidon asked frustratedly, feeling as if it were pointless.

"Well to be specific, the woman's name is Sally Jackson."

**A/N: Spider poison doesn't kill the person. With that being said, I'm sorry for the short filler and the late chapter. I'm losing my inspiration for this story, and I'm going to try not to give up. Suggestions and ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the support!******

**Saphira (Guest): Thanks for all the information, I appreciate it. I'm sure in two years; you'll be a good writer.******

**Guest: The story's not done yet.**


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Lightsabers****  
**  
Chapter 15

There were several ways to break down. One is to just cry your heart out nonstop for hours. That way could lead on for days- never-ending. The second way is to keep it inside of you, the grief carrying on for years. The third way is to kill yourself, but that was for extreme cases.

"How?" Percy asked, his voice cracking with thick layers of emotions welling up inside of him. He knew exactly what had happened though. He knew exactly who it was, and he knew why.

It was his own fault in a way.

"It says that she was brought to a hospital, who confirmed her dead," Hermes read on, his expression troubled.

"She can't be," Percy repeated what he was saying in his head over and over again. Out of all the people...

"She is," the messenger god confirmed, hating to be the bringer of bad news. Unfortunately messenger meant handing messages to someone. Or something close and similar to that anyways. "If you want to read it yourself..."

"I don't want it," Percy replied, his voice changing into a more fierce approach. "Where is she now?"

"Still in the hospital," Hermes responded. "They're going to set up a small funeral in a few days. I actually thought they would contact you, but I guess..."

"I don't have a phone."

"Exactly."

The god of messengers breathed out a little, happy that the subject was slowly changing to a lighter tone than before. If he actually thought that, it was tough luck for him.

"I want to see her," Percy said after some time, and this time, the entire 'I'm so brave' face dropped. Not that he had it in the first place.

He had what was called, a 'slow reaction.' So called anyway. It didn't actually process in the demigod's mind until he saw the newspaper article. He saw the picture. The dreaded photograph that some person decided to take of 'the dead.'

There she was: Sally Jackson. Lying on a hospital bed on her stiff back that didn't move, a blood sample on the counter, while her face was ashen, her eyes still wide open in surprise.

"They didn't even bother to close her eyes," Percy eventually said softly, silently weeping.

"Who is that woman anyways?" Dionysus asked boredly, feigning 'excitement.'

Most of the gods didn't know the name of Poseidon's lover or Percy's mother, so they decided to let the youngest of the Olympians ask the stupid question.

"She's my mom," the son of Poseidon responded quietly. "At least she used to be."

The tears came slowly. One by one. Dripping off each eyelid like rain hailing down and shattering the windows. Percy's mind went into overdrive, as he started to attempt to accept the fact. He bowed his head down as he shook quietly, shaking.

The other Olympians just watched, realizations finally dawning upon them like they had learned something new (which they did.) Even Artemis was sympathetic for the 'boy,' even though it was mostly because his mother had supposedly died.

"Give it here!" Poseidon barked put roughly, even though it was mostly out of his reaction, not his personality. His saddened face actually broke down once he saw the same picture.

Hades was the only one that wasn't exactly grieving in any way. "She's not dead."

It took a while to sync in. Percy didn't even hear what his 'uncle' said, blocking out most sounds as he rocked back and forth slowly, no emotion expressing any happiness of any kind. Just guilt. Whirlpools of guilt and the pressure that would slowly build up. Stress. His deprived state of having 'no' mother could eventually drive him insane.

"Jackson," Hades said again, louder and more forceful. "Your mother's not dead."

The god of the seas heard his brother this time. His head that was on his hands were slowly released as he looked at Hades nearly pitifully. "What?"

"Sally Jackson isn't dead," Hades repeated, trying not to be impatient. "She's not in the Underworld."

No emotion. Crying. Then came the yelling and screaming, the denial. Apparently Hades still wasn't heard. And that was when Apollo realized the dangers of an angry and depressed son of Poseidon. Storms all across the country could be happening.

"You're the god of thieves, you're lying!" Even though it could be considered 'childish' and dangerous to yell, Percy still did. Perhaps the attacker was giving some mercy.

Hermes looked incredulous, even though it could be true. "Well I'm not lying unless the newspaper is lying."

That was all Hermes could say, before fifteen new messages appeared on his phone. He checked them quickly, his face going solemn. He showed it to Apollo.

"You don't care do you?!" Percy continued, red tinged around the edges of his dark sea green ones that were whirling around like a hurricane, which was happening to some unfortunate country.

A small ding and another batch of new messages appeared. Hermes' face turned extremely worried.

Poseidon was trying to calm down his son, but didn't know how, knowing that no words could be even heard.

A small rumble was evident as cracks on the ground grew. And finally, the Olympians actually did something. Zeus banged his lightning on the ground, demanding for order, while others were attempting to calm the demigod down.

"Syringe!" Athena suggested, but it was more of a demand. "Get the syringe Apollo!"

In demigod terms, or any terms at all, the word 'syringe' wasn't usually a good thing. Percy tore off the covers, feeling his back sting so painfully he tripped and stumbled on his own feet. He gasped, feeling his back hurt. Not hurt. It felt to him, as if it could kill. The wound that he didn't even bandage, opened up, bleeding profusely, as he scrambled to get up.

The god of medicine had a guilty but determined look on his face as he held the syringe in his arm, held in a dagger like way. With one stride, he closed the distance between the demigod and himself.

The demigod son of Poseidon got up just in time as Apollo lunged, and he started to run.

"Your mother's not dead!" Demeter shouted, trying to be helpful.

Percy stopped running, turning around just in time to be met with the syringe that was stabbed right in his arm. It was a full knockout syringe, and the effects worked immediately. Poseidon caught his son in his arms as he fell, laying him down on the hospital bed gently.

The rumble that had started stopped.

"You should've yelled it louder," Hestia told her brother, looking at the demigod sadly. "This could've been prevented."

The god of the sun was standing nearly as still as the Gabe statue that was now in a museum. The syringe was still in his hand. Everyone could see that something was wrong. They just didn't know what it was.

**With Percy:****  
**  
"You hurt her."

"Ah. So you finally realized that she's not dead eh?"

Percy lunged towards the attacker, but the mysterious person simply moved away.

"I thought you would be more grateful that she's not dead," the attacker told the demigod coldly. "Apparently I was wrong."

"The newspaper said she was 'confirmed' dead," Percy responded, pulling out his sword. "That means that she's in a trauma-like state, which means she's probably in a coma, but nobody knows she is."

The attacker smiled. "Exactly. Brilliant isn't it?"

Within a mere two seconds, Percy had his sword pointed towards the attacker's neck. He wasn't even surprised. A chuckle escaped from his mouth, and with a blink of an eye, he kicked the demigod in the stomach.

The son of Poseidon flew backwards, the wind knocking out of him as he fell on the asphalt. He tried catching his breath as the attacker approached him with a katana in his hand, ready to finish the demigod off.

Desperately, Percy held up Riptide, slowly getting up, while taking deep breaths.

"Dying with honor. No one will know, what are you doing it for?"

"So that I can see your face look like a blowfish I have at my house."

The attacker shrugged, his katana held at an angle, while Percy didn't really care about his stance. Just as long as he could move and dodge attacks, he was fine.

It was the 'Grim Reaper' that moved first. His robe flew after him as he moved stealthily without any sound. The 'Fish' though, gave a battle cry as he ran full speed towards the person that had made his life a living Underworld.

The two weapons clashed together like Lightsabers.

"Alright," the attacker spoke through gritted teeth. He refused to back down. "Time to add in some flair."

Percy had no idea what the attacker meant by 'flair' but he didn't want to find out. He used his strength from his training to push forward, like he was pushing a large door.

"You know Jackson; the last thing I drank was coffee." The person in robes spoke. He didn't even wait for a reply. "I was at your house."  
**  
****A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, however OOC it may be. Thanks for all the support!******

** NA (Guest): It's basically spider poison, which leaves the person paralyzed, but seems 'dead.'******

**lovepercy21: Spider poison can kill, just for this story, it makes the person seem 'dead' but she's not.**


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 16

Percy roared angrily, unlocking the weapons from his opponent before slamming Riptide into his attacker, making a whack that echoed all over. He didn't have time to enjoy his victory. He used the time that the attacker staggered backwards to whack him again, kneeing him in the gut for good measure.

The sword was at the unknown figure's throat within seconds. Percy breathed in and out angrily, feeling his adrenaline rush go out like a balloon that was deflated.

"You know Jackson," the attacker spoke calmly, not a hint of worry in his voice. Riptide was right in front of his throat. If Percy made one more move, he would be dead within seconds. "I thought you knew me-"

"Stop talking," Percy ordered directly, drawing a hint of blood from the throat.

"Better than that," the attacker continued as if Percy had never interrupted. Flashing the son of Poseidon a bright smile from under his hood, he disappeared.

Silence. Then-

"I'm back," the 'Grim Reaper' said unexpectedly, opening his arms wide as if he wanted a hug. Instead, when he opened his arms, you could see the black hood. All his knives and small grenade bombs that were handmade were on the cloak. "Miss me?"

A bitter smile replaced the frustrated one that was on Percy's face. "Too cheesy."

The unknown didn't smile back. "Cheesy?! How's this for CHEESY?!"

And with one swift motion that the son of Poseidon didn't have time to block, the attacker took one of his small knives and stabbed it right in Percy's right arm.

Blood spilled as he screamed.  
**  
****On Olympus, after Percy became unconscious:****  
**  
"Give it here," Poseidon almost growled as he snatched the syringe from Apollo. He stared at it, reading out the words. "What did you give him?"

"I picked the one that was on the 'knockout syringe' shelf," Apollo explained, shifting his feet from left to right.

"Did you read the words at all?" Poseidon questioned, dangerously calm.

"... No."

An angry Poseidon shoved the empty syringe into Apollo's face. A look of rage was on his face as he watched the other god read it out loud.

"Full knockout syringe. Effects: Knockout for a long time. Might kill them if they're not strong enough. WARNING: VERY DANGEROUS. DO NOT USE IN NORMAL CASES."

A horrified look was on Apollo's face as he stared from the syringe to the son of Poseidon that was unconscious on the hospital bed.

"What have you done?!" Hestia whispered, shaking her head as she looked at the boy.

"I-I didn't," Apollo stammered, but he did.

"You did it!" Ares exclaimed in disbelief. "I can't believe the punk's dead!"

"He. Is. Not. Dead!" Hermes shouted, pushing Ares back with force so the war god fell on the ground. "He's going to live!"

The war god snorted, getting back up on his feet with a new weapon in his hands. Hera intervened between the two of them before they started fighting. She glared at both of them, shaking her head, before scowling.

"No Ares is right!" Aphrodite cried out, sniffling a bit. "He's going to die! And then who will save us?"

"We don't need... Demigods- to save us," Hera spat out, leaving a foul taste in her mouth as she said the word 'demigods' as if it were poison.

"Oh don't be such an egoistic cow Hera," Demeter spoke bluntly, feeling offended, even though she was a goddess and not a demigod. "They saved us in the war, prevented wars, and did tons of quests."

The queen of the gods was miffed. The scowl remained. She had no retort to that statement... Yet.

"YOU IMBECILE!" Poseidon roared with fury. "It's your entire fault! He could die, and it'll be because. Of. YOU!"

"Actually," Athena stated quietly, but loud enough for her rival to hear. "I told Apollo to get the syringe."

The sea god didn't see any logic in it. He didn't seem to blame Athena. "It was Apollo that took the syringe!"

"It was I who told him to get a syringe," Athena retorted as if she wanted to get blamed.

"That syringe in particular?" Artemis asked, taking part in the discussion.

"No, just a knockout syringe."

"Everyone, silence!" Demeter said loudly. When the noise subsided, she spoke again. "Perseus might die, and you're all bickering and arguing like you haven't eaten cereal today!"

"Technically we didn't eat cereal today," Hermes pointed out.

"Do you want her to make us eat cereal?!" Aphrodite hissed. "Those- Those, things aren't even beautiful! They taste disgusting!"

"What?" Demeter questioned a crazy expression.

It was a disaster. Hestia watched her entire family (except for Dionysus, Artemis, and Hephaestus) argue or ignore the situation. She frowned, watching Percy's breathing hitch, but then go back to normal. Walking towards his bed, she sat beside the unconscious figure, and sighed.

"SILENCE!" Zeus demanded extremely loudly. "EVERYONE SHUT UP!"

And so the demanded silence started. Poseidon glanced back to his son and Hestia, who was being motherly. His eyes softened and lost its harsh glare that was directed to both Apollo and Athena.

The king of the gods breathed in deeply, exhaling loudly. "That's better. Apollo, try to get Perseus awake, and everyone else, go back to your duties. Someone may want to go alert Camp Half-Blood of what has happened. And yes, you can stay here if you wish to."

With order being settled, Zeus flashed away dramatically, leaving the smell of ozone in the air, the second one to leave was Hera, who didn't want to stay.

Eventually, more Olympians left. Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hades, Demeter, Ares, and Aphrodite all went at the same time, while Artemis grimaced from the smell of the heavy perfume. She lingered for a while, staring at Apollo as if saying 'need any help?' With one shake of the head, she left as well.

"I'll go tell camp," Hermes said, as the same time Athena did.

"Go," Poseidon sighed, flapping one hand, gesturing for them to leave as well.

Now only Poseidon, Apollo, and Hestia were left, as the other two Olympians flashed out to tell the news. The sea god breathed out, crashing on one of the infirmary chair. It made a small creaking noise as he did.

"Are you alright?" Hestia asked in concern, as she walked over to her brother.

"No," Poseidon stated bluntly but truthfully. "My son could be dying because a fool grabbed the wrong syringe."

The sun god flinched and paled, knowing he made a fatal mistake. Even if he was immortal, having a trident stuck in the place your chest would be extremely painful.

"It was an accidental mistake brother," Hestia reminded him gently.

"It was an accidental mistake that he was born," Poseidon replied, putting his head in his hands. "And now it is an accidental mistake that he might die."

"Have you no faith?" Hestia questioned. "The syringe says it might kill them if they're not strong enough. Perseus is strong. Or have you forgotten that your son has killed Kronos?"

"In his words, he said that he didn't kill Kronos. Everyone in the camp did," the sea god retorted. "He was always humble."

"He will always be," the goddess of the hearth responded. "He will live brother, I'm sure of it."

While Poseidon eventually nodded, Apollo stared at Percy like it was the only thing for him to survive.

Blood unexpectedly dribbled down Percy's arm, and he struggled against the hands that were holding him down. Eventually, he stopped struggling, his breathing going on like a heartbeat.

And it wasn't until that scene, when Hestia realized how serious the situation was.

**A/N: Hope the characters weren't that OOC in this chapter. Thanks for all the support!******

**sarah b (Guest): Truthfully, I picked Alaska because it was where the gods couldn't locate people, not really because of the location, but thanks for the info!**


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 17

"Make sure no one knows Chiron," Poseidon said, running a hand through his hair. He sighed. "We don't want anyone going up to Olympus to see him. It-It's for the best."

"Annabeth will be devastated," Chiron spoke sadly.

"I know," Poseidon replied, sighing. "But we have to wait for Percy to wake up by himself. Apollo is trying his best to heal him but I'm not sure if he'll make it..."

The old mentor looked slightly shocked at the ruler's 'unfaithfulness' but tried to conceal it with a rather grim expression. "I'm sorry Lord Poseidon. I know he is your son."

The lord of the seas nodded. "Athena and Hermes will be there soon to explain things. Perhaps not exactly the truth, but..."

"Not propaganda I hope?" The centaur responded, raising and eyebrow.

"Hermes will be there so I doubt it."

Chiron could see that in the background, Poseidon was still in Olympus' infirmary. In the distance, Apollo was currently yelling something inaudible, and Hestia was trying as best as she could to comply and help the demigod awaken.

"If I may ask," Chiron began, curiosity evident in his tone. "Why can't the campers learn the truth?"

Sighing seemed to be what Poseidon did a lot lately. "Think about it. If everyone knew Percy might... Die... Then camp would be in a mess. Annabeth would demand to go to Olympus to see her boyfriend. My son was like the anchor in the camp, without him, camp would be..."

"Broken," Chiron finished. "But how can you be so sure of that?"

"I'm not," the ruler of the seas answered truthfully. "I just trust my instincts. Although... The main reason of not telling the whole truth is that if my son does die then we could twist the part truth. Twist it so that Percy doesn't have to be the anchor of the camp. Perhaps Annabeth could be.

"You see Chiron, if we tell the whole truth, things would be terrible. So yes, I suppose it might be a form of propaganda," Poseidon finished his speech.

The centaur eventually nodded, closing his eyes at the aspect of it. "I see. And just now you were telling me that there wasn't going to be any propaganda."

"I changed my mind I suppose."

"And the other Olympians... They know about this?"

Poseidon nodded. "I have already informed them. Athena and Hermes will be there shortly. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Poseidon slashed his hand across the IM, and Chiron stared at the now wooden Big House wall. He turned around in his wheelchair, breathing out heavily. _Was it right?__  
_  
Two flashes of bright light appeared in front of the Big House's entrance. Chiron instinctively closed his eyes, even going as far as to place his arm around his eye area.

"Chiron," Athena greeted, looking around as if she expected Annabeth to be there with her invisibility cap. "Has Poseidon already informed you of the news?"

The mentor nodded after finishing his semi-bow. "Would you announce it in the amphitheater or the mess hall?"

"Mess hall," Hermes immediately answered for both of them. "It's almost lunch time anyways. Might as well make it slightly earlier."

Athena looked slightly disgruntled but figured it was a good plan in the end. "Let's go."

The centaur and two Olympians headed for the mess hall, and Chiron managed to grab a megaphone before they were outside. He changed into his actual centaur form once they got out of the Big House.

"May I do the honors?" Hermes asked, letting a dramatic flair add to his voice.

"Go ahead," Chiron encouraged, but when he handed over the megaphone, he looked a little worried.

"Thanks," Hermes replied, before continuing. "EVERY SINGLE CAMPER COME TO THE MESS HALL TO HAVE LUNCH!"

Even Athena slammed her hands onto her ears and she growled at Hermes dangerously. "Not so loud!"

"Hey," the god defended, handing the megaphone back to the owner. "Camp is pretty big, if everyone needs to hear it, I need to be loud and heard!"

Athena sent a cold glare at Hermes, even though it made perfect sense. She reminded him of Artemis.

"Continue," the goddess said rather stiffly.

"We're already walking," Hermes pointed out. "Wait actually... Never mind, we just started when you said 'continue.' Funny."

The goddess proceeded to ignore the god all the way.

All the campers were in their benches already. Most of them stared at the two Olympians but a few were waiting impatiently for the food. Others were looking at the gods as if it were the first time they had seen them. All of them forgot to bow.

The god of messengers nodded his head at Athena, who was the first one to talk. He frowned slightly, wondering if he made the right decision. She would be using big, massive, huge words that the campers might not understand. Shaking his head, he listened to the part truth.

"As most of you know, Perseus Jackson has been going on an unknown quest and has been missing for a day or two," Athena started, and Hermes mentally sighed in relief. "Today, he has returned but during his time in your camp's infirmary, he has been having mental problems. Images on his head that most likely came from the quest that scared him.

"As the ones that stayed by him know, he had been... Unstable as you could call it. Currently, he is residing in Olympus' infirmary. From there, Hermes has discovered that his mother, Sally Jackson has 'died.'" Athena said, accenting the 'died' part.

Annabeth knew something was off. "What?!"

"Everyone, calm down! Sally is not dead!" Hermes shouted, before turning to an annoyed Athena. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?"

"Perseus, upon hearing the news became uncontrollable. Even the gods couldn't restrain him. So Apollo had to inject him with a part time knock out syringe. He has already woken up and he knows that his mother is alive. However, until he is properly healed, he will need to stay at Olympus to have further treatment, both physical and mental," Athena finalized.

Shocked silence. The camp stopped what they were eating to stare at the goddess who looked like she was daring everyone to say otherwise.

It was Nico who spoke first. He scraped his salad to the left and picked up his hamburger that should've been eaten for dinner. "It's not possible."

"And how would you know?" Athena fired back immediately.

The senior campers, the ones that actually knew Percy personally knew something was up. Annabeth stared at her mother intently, but Athena didn't seem to look that thrilled at staring at anyone except for the sky. _Strange,_ she mused.

"Because I know Percy," Nico fired back.

"And I've seen Perseus," Athena retorted.

"Nico's right," Annabeth helped. "Percy wouldn't go insane, much less go wild."

Only the senior campers had their doubts. Whispers and rumors spread around the mess hall like a wild fire in a forest. The newer campers that didn't know Percy very well nodded. The others just looked grim.

"You want to go against a goddess?" Athena asked, using her 'gods are superior to demigods' strategy.

"If they're wrong, then yes," Annabeth said bravely, standing up with her stormy gray eyes flashing. "Swear on the River Styx if you're so confident."

Athena stared at Hermes, who lisped 'icks.' She understood immediately, sending a quick prayer to Zeus for thunder to rumble afterwards.

"I swear on the River icks," Athena said confidently. Basically, she used the 'pronunciation' of Styx into 'sticks' but since it was the pronunciation, she used the 'icks' part of 'sticks.' It worked all the same.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and at that moment, Annabeth, still standing looked shocked. She stared up at the heavens as if someone had slapped her in the face.

Chiron stared at the mess hall sadly, watching a wild uproar engage. He shook his head silently, thinking of the trickery the gods had caused by the part truth and lies. _Would it be late to tell the truth? _He thought with a mixed expression.

Athena shot the centaur a look that clearly said, 'don't even think about it.'  
**  
****A/N: Sorry for the late update, and the (slightly bad) confusing chapter, along with the OOCness. It was mostly filler; next chapter will be about Percy and some other things. Thanks for all the support!**


	19. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

**A/N: the attacker's story is slightly insane, so skip if you don't want to read it.****  
**  
Chapter 18

The attacker let a smile cover his face- a huge one- as he watched the demigod suffer in pain. His smile widened even more as Percy screamed, clutching his shoulder as if it were his lifeline to living.

"Painful isn't it?" The attacker asked with a sadistic grin on his face as he laughed uproariously at the scene. He banged his fists on the ground and mirth was evident on the parts of the face that was visible.

"St-Stop it," Percy muttered, stuttering at the beginning of his sentence and he cringed and shivered heavily as he felt the coldness of the space welcome him.

"And... Why... Should... I... Do... That...?" The attacker asked between gasps of laughter. He sharpened his throwing knife, making a very sharp noise to the ears. "You don't tell me what to do bastard."

The son of Poseidon managed to roll out of the way as the attacker threw another knife towards him. The demigod winced, as the knife that was lodged in his shoulders went a bit deeper. He yelped as blood bled and stained his black hoodie that he was wearing. Not that it wasn't bleeding before.

"Close one," the attacker said with a smile, making Percy wonder if the person was bipolar or insane. "Dodge this."

Percy always liked to believe that the Fates had a love/hate relationship with him. He did a mental 'thanks' as the knife grazed him across his left elbow. Still- he grinned as if they were old friends.

"Third time's the charm eh Jackson?" The attacker smiled gruesomely. He brought out a weapon behind his back.

The crooked grin that was on the demigod's face faltered as he saw an axe that seemed to be coming right towards his face for a headshot. His sea green eyes widened and his ADHD kicked in. As an instinct, he ducked, bringing out Riptide to (hopefully) save himself from being killed.

The attacker roared when he found out that the demigod was still alive. He growled when he saw the axe land on the ground with a loud thud. Making a noise that sounded like a demented scarecrow that became alive, he stamped.

A ripple could be seen underneath the white ground. It was like some sort of slimy monster had decided to slide in deep under and travel around like a mole.

The sound of a pop could be heard and the rippling stopped. In its place stood a kitchen. Complete with a counter and two chairs. The attacker smiled, all previous fury gone as he sat down on one of the stools with a sigh.

"Sit down Jackson," the attacker invited, gesturing towards the other stool. He snorted. "It's not going to kill you. That's my job."

The demigod looked uncertain. He opened his mouth but then closed it when he remembered his girlfriend stating something about 'catching flies.' Looking hesitant, he stepped backwards for safety precautions.

Sighing, the attacker looked extremely annoyed. He walked towards one of the shelves before taking something out, hiding it with his kimono like sleeves.

"Cookies?" the attacker offered holding a jar of blue cookies towards the demigod.

"How do I know that that's not drugged?" Percy asked suspiciously, still walking backwards slowly.

"Because I'm eating them," the unknown answered, taking a bite out of one of the cookies.

"Great reason," the demigod replied dryly.

"It's true! Look, I'll even eat a second one! I'll eat all of them!"

The 'Grim Reaper' reached his gloved hand inside the jar, taking out five cookies before stuffing them all in his mouth. Percy could finally get a proper look at the attacker's teeth. Yellow and black pieces of 'teeth' were all he saw and he grimaced.

"Still don't trust me?" the attacker asked suddenly, grabbing another cookie eagerly. "I swear on the planet Qyzx that these cookies will not kill, hurt, and harm you or your friends or family and blah blah blah."

A strange rumbling noise that seemed to be going 'BOOM BOOM BA BA BOOM BA' happened and Percy's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. The attacker just sighed (again) and set down the jar on the counter.

"You swear on the River Styx, but I swear on the planet Qyzx. It's a system. If we ever break the oath, a hammer crashes on our head and we get burned alive."

Awkward silence somehow managed to strike them.

"Look Jackson, I'll make sure your mother wakes up alright?" the attacker reassured, looking around worriedly.

"What?" Percy asked immediately. "And now you start to feel compassion?!"

"I'm doing you a favor," the attacker responded swiftly.

The demigod sat on the stool beside the attacker. "Why the change of heart?"

"I don't have a heart. The second you wake up, your mother is going to be removed from the hospital, into your home, and you're going to be exactly where you were before."

"... You're not human."

"Do I look human?"

Percy shrugged his shoulders, letting a small smile cross his face as he grabbed a cookie. And for a second, he forgot about the knife. The attacker reached out towards him, and ripped the knife right out of the demigod's flesh.

It took a second to register what had just happened. Percy stared down at the hole in horror, as it 'spitted' out blood. And yet... He didn't feel any pain. He looked at the cookie, and then back at the hole again.

"Told you to eat the cookie didn't I? Helps with the pain don't it?" the attacker told the demigod, wiping the bloody knife with a red towel. "It'll leave a scar though, can't do anything about that."

Before Percy could even speak, the attacker continued, lowering his voice.

"I have family problems Jackson," the attacker said, his voice breaking. He inhaled and exhaled deeply. "I met this cat. Real nice one- I found it underground. So I took it home with me- you know, because it was a stray and all..."

The attacker didn't continue. Percy just stared at him, wondering how the family issue was related to bringing a cat home. He gestured for the non-human to continue.

"My mom had opened the door to our house. She took one look at the cat... Well she never told me she had asthma. She got an asthma attack, and tried to find her inhaler but it turns out, that she was out of puffs..."

He could already figure out the rest.

"She was already so old... And just as she collapsed on the floor, coughing so hard, the cat jumped on her and started licking her face. That was the moment dad came home. Turns out, he was away to get her medicine. But it was already too late. She was... Dead."

The unknown figure stood up, blood spilling on the floor as he did so. He walked over towards the cabinet, getting out a drinking cup. "Dad kicked me out of the house. That was a week ago."

It seemed too bad to be true. He poured himself a cup of water before gulping it down.

"So that's why you tried to kill me and my mom," Percy realized, feeling sympathetic.

A bitter laugh escaped from the attacker's throat. "Not at all. Don't you get it Jackson?" He laughed some more, showing his grimy teeth. "I'm insane, a sociopath!"

Laughter echoed all along the endless white space. The demigod stayed silent, feeling frightful of the attacker. One of his hands gripped his pen tightly. The other lay loosely on the counter. He backed away from the insane attacker.

"Don't go yet," the attacker said, stopping all his laughter. "I had a sister too. When she heard of her mother's death, she was so upset, she killed herself. And that was when my dad realized that he had no one left but me. He had made an oath 'whoever is left in this family with only I and the other, I swear on the planet Qyzx that I will stick with them until the end.' He begged me to come back."

The sound of a water refill could be heard as the unknown took a pause in his story. He gulped it down, pouring more water in the cup before continuing.

"I suppose I wasn't straight in the head back then. I was furious with my dad so I told the local police that he killed his family. They locked him up in prison."

Silence. That's all the attacker was met by. He grinned again.

"So how did you like that story?!" the attacker asked eagerly.

"It wasn't real?!" Percy finally responded, finding his voice again.

"Parts of it were, parts of it weren't. My mom's in a coma, same as yours, I never had a sister and my dad's in prison. Truth is, when you wake up, my mom will wake up too."

"Then why are you wasting time with me?"

"All I wanted was to play a game."

_"A game."_

The attacker nodded sullenly. "I'm dying Jackson. When you wake up, the poison will be gone, I die and my mom wakes up. I only have two minutes left actually. Better get you out of here before I die and you're stuck."

Before he could begin to snap his fingers, Percy intervened.

"What's so bad about your face?" Percy asked curiously. "Why are you covering it?"

"One minute forty five seconds Jackson. I actually thought you would know by now. Still a Seaweed Brain."

"How do you know that nickname?" Percy demanded, feeling troubled. "Who are you?"

The attacker had a smile on his face. A _crooked_smile. His gloved hands reached out to the front of his hood before pulling it backwards.

"I'm your hallucination. You created me," the attacker spoke, sea green eyes sparkling. "You needed me to guide you."

"I don't need you," Percy replied, nearly falling out of his stool. He balanced himself on the counter.

"One minute twenty seconds. Come on, don't lie to yourself Perseus. I know that you wanted action. You were glad that the war was over, but you wanted- needed a quest. So you created me."

"... That's not possible. You're this weird shape shifter from another planet that the gods might not even know about. You're not me."

"Less than a minute. Of course I'm not you. You created me, this person. Not literally you. I just decided that it would be cool if I looked more like you. That's why I changed my teeth. Just remember Jackson, if you ever need me, you know what to do."

"What about your 'family?' And the story you told me? All of those things you told me?"

"A great story I thought of at the top of my head. I'm not dying. All those things I told you were my awesome imagination. And now... We depart."

Percy could feel himself fade as if he were becoming a ghost. He could see 'himself' stare at him as he went. He closed his eyes, questions whirling around his head.

_'Oh,'_ Percy could hear a voice in his head say. _'In the future, you won't actually be or look like me.'_

He woke up with a loud gasp.

**A/N: Sorry for the late update and the confusing chapter. The story will be ending soon, in a few chapters probably. If anyone's still confused, put it in a review/PM. Next chapter will make things clearer. Thanks for all the support!**

**Megathumb: Thanks, hope you don't destroy your iPod!**

**Annie (Guest): Thanks for that information, but I can't really change what happened in the previous chapters so sorry for the mistake.****  
**


	20. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 19

"My mom..." Percy gasped out, trailing off as if he forgot what he wanted to say. "Is she okay?"

"Shh, just calm down for a few seconds," Hestia whispered, a small smile on her face. "Let me get your father and Apollo, wait here."

"Where else can I go?" Percy retorted, feeling dizzy.

He watched her leave the ward with a little bounce in her step. When she was fully out of sight, he touched his back, wondering if 'himself' had removed it or not.

In all, he should've known that the catch was that a huge scarred X still remained in his back proudly. He groaned, dropping his head in his hands in his own self-misery. _Only Annabeth can understand something as complex like this, _he thought in his own pity.

"Hello Percy," a voice spoke.

Said person glanced up in shock.

"You're back to the real world," the person spoke again. A small smile could be seen through the black hood. "You don't need me anymore Percy."

"... Didn't you say that I created you though? Shouldn't I-" Percy started, but got cut off.

"Technically," he admitted. "But you don't need me anymore. I can still be there, but you don't necessarily need me."

Pounding footsteps could be heard, and Percy's eyes widened as he saw three silhouettes round up the corner in a fast pace. His sea green eyes switched towards 'himself' but he just laughed.

"They can't see me if you're wondering... Only if I want to be seen, but that takes a lot of energy... Your energy, for instance, the case with your mother..."

Percy gritted his teeth in annoyance, wincing as he heard his father's booming voice exclaim some statement about him.

"Glad to see you're alive Percy, even though you do look a little... Pale," Apollo said with a blinding smile.

"And who was the cause of that?" Poseidon reprimanded.

"It's not Apollo's fault," Percy finally said.

"Well, well, it looks like daddy dearest is becoming fake. Stare at his eyes," the 'created hallucination' said with observation.

Poseidon sent a sharp gaze towards Apollo before loosening up. "I'm just glad you're alive."

He looked in his father's eyes. All he saw was guilt. He drew back, staring at his previous attacker in shock. The 'created hallucination' stared back as if he was bored.

"Really makes you believe," the previous attacker muttered, mostly to himself. He met the gaze again. "When you go back to camp, first thing you do is ask one of the campers you trust the most- perhaps Thalia. Oh, I know you want to go to Annabeth but she can still be loyal to her mother in certain extents- believing her, perhaps lies."

The demigod shook his head, not saying anything.

"Anyways," he continued. "Ask Thalia, she isn't exactly showing any father favoritism these days. Ask her what the gods said about you during their visit. Even I don't know, all I do know is that they spoke of lies when they visited. Perhaps, maybe not. Then you'll understand, don't criticize too harshly, it might have been for the greater good."

He still remained silent. Apollo followed his gaze to an empty space in the infirmary, and his eyes narrowed, watching his sign language carefully.

"When can I go?" Percy finally asked.

The sea god started to smile nervously, (not that he wasn't smiling before.) He glanced at a clueless Apollo.

"I'll have to do a few checkups, but you can go after that. It'll take no longer than an hour, don't worry," Apollo laughed, not noticing the 'desperate' look on Poseidon's face.

Hestia sent a concerned look towards her brother, who was looking like he had ADHD. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Hestia," Poseidon responded, looking slightly better. He looked at Apollo again. "Don't you think Percy should stay here for a few days, to recover?"

"What?!" the demigod yelled incredulously.

Apollo shook his head. "So far he looks fine, there's no point in keeping him here."

"Just in case," Poseidon added in with a warning glance.

"You can talk telepathically," the previous attacker spoke.

_Why is he acting that way?_ Was the first thing he thought of. He frowned, hiding a scowl as the two gods fought with one another pointlessly.

"I told you already," he spoke with a heavy sigh. "He's hiding something. I think he told some gods to tell the campers about you... But it must be something fake if he's so worried about you going back to camp. Interesting."

Can't you go to camp and ask? Percy asked mentally, crossing his fingers.

"Can't," came the gruff reply. "Sorry. What you can do though, is wait for all of them to leave and ask for Hestia to bring you to camp."

_She'll probably say no.__  
_  
"You never know, it's worth a try."

"He's fine! He doesn't need to stay here longer than necessary!" Apollo shouted in exasperation.

Hestia sighed as Poseidon made a brilliant comeback of being a caring father. She stared at the demigod quietly, shaking her head silently. He stared back at her.

"Go on; ask her now, while the others can't hear."

"Uh... Hestia?" Percy asked, making sure his voice could be only audible to the goddess. He didn't wait for a reply. "Do you think you can teleport me to camp right now?"

The goddess sighed, switching her gaze to the two gods. "I don't know Percy... I know that Poseidon is being rash right now, but Apollo does need to do a checkup on you."

"After the checkup then?" Percy asked hopefully.

She looked uncertain. "I don't know Percy. Your father wants you to stay..." Looking at the demigod's crestfallen face, she sighed again. "But then again, I suppose it is unnecessary... Don't you want to see your mother first?"

A wide grin spread on his face and he hugged the goddess, thanking her more than a dozen times. The two bickering gods stopped their argument for a few seconds to stare at the hugging pair.

"Hestia," Poseidon called out curiously. "What do you think?"

Somehow, she still managed to keep her calm composure. She turned to meet her brother's gaze. "Why keep him imprisoned if he is perfectly fine?"

"You too?!" Poseidon raged.

"What is it with you?!" Percy finally snapped. "Why are you so content on keeping me in Olympus and not to see my mom or go to camp?!"

"Percy," Poseidon pleaded. His son looked at him in amazement as if he couldn't believe gods could stoop that low. "Just a few days, Hades, just stay here for one day!"

"One day to fix all of his mistakes," the 'Grim Reaper' spoke wisely. "Hmm... That's not too shabby..." He stared to look at his creator. "It's your decision. Let him fix his mistake about you, or find out his mistake first. Tough one."

"Go visit Sally first then," the sea god offered with a hopeful smile. His smile turned troubled. "Then you can go to camp."

The demigod stared at the supposed empty spot in the middle of the infirmary where his attacker stood solemnly. His sea green eyes begged for an answer.

"I'm sorry Percy," the hooded person spoke in barely a whisper, yet it was still audible. "But I'm afraid the choice is yours. Although if you give Poseidon a chance, then ask for Hestia to go to camp and ask... But like I said before, it's your choice, your decision, your moment of truth."

"... I'll go see mom," Percy decided, trying to ignore the joyous look in his father's eyes. He frowned for a while, his gut instinct telling him to do otherwise.

Poseidon looked grateful. "I'll get going so Apollo can do his checkup." He hugged his son tightly before going out the room, teleporting away when he couldn't be seen anymore.

The three occupants watched the sea god go in confusion.

"Well," a voice spoke. Percy looked up, listening attentively. "I suppose it's time for me to go."

"Percy who's there?" Apollo asked curiously. "You keep on looking to that empty space in the middle... What's wrong?"

Percy watched as he disappeared into nothingness. A small frown settled into his face, but he shook his head. "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine."

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, but I don't have any inspiration and this was all I came up with, so, not exactly my greatest chapter. I don't exactly have all the free time in the world, so bear with me if the updating is getting worse. Thanks for all the support!**

**emmalunajackson33: Thanks! And sorry that this chapter doesn't explain much, but if you have any questions, just PM.**

**Daydreamer with wings: Thanks, and I'm trying to update but it's getting harder for me to do.**


	21. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 20

"Okay guys, here's the plan," Annabeth spoke in hushed voice as all the counselors 'huddled' together for the plan. "We'll have Nico shadow travel Thalia and I to the entrance of the Empire State building. One of us asks for the key, I suggest Thalia should go. Then we'll go to Olympus to see what the Hades is happening to Percy."

There was a small moment of silence before Nico spoke slowly.

"You know that shadow traveling takes out a lot of my energy right? So traveling that far a few times will be not cool. Also, why use my father's name? It's so stereotypical-" Nico complained, but got cut off by Annabeth.

"I'll give you an entire bag of ambrosia and a bottle of nectar," Annabeth reassured the son of Hades. She wisely ignored to answer the Hades statement. Thalia however, didn't.

"Death Breath," Thalia butted in. "Hades' domain is the Underworld which is technically hell, so basically, what the Hades means what the-"

"I'll make sure my father doesn't put you in Elysium then," Nico interrupted coldly, staring at his cousin in the eye. "Since you think the Underworld is like a living hell."

Seeing as Thalia was about to open her mouth again, Annabeth decided to end it. Her grey eyes were stormy. "Enough! Percy is probably in trouble. When you guys needed help, who was the one that rescued or helped you? Who was the one that was always there? And now that he's in trouble, all of you are arguing at the worst possible time!"

At the end of her mini speech, Annabeth slammed the palms of both her hands on the ping pong table in anger. Her patience and temper was short, and her breaths came out raggedly. Her eyes narrowed but eventually closed, opening only after a few seconds.

"The plan will proceed in a few minutes. All of you wait here until I come back with the nectar and ambrosia," Annabeth concluded, taking out her Yankees cap out of her jean pocket.

Slapping her cap on her head, she immediately turned invisible. The rest of her actions couldn't be seen anymore.

Thalia looked up from the ground. "Now that Annabeth isn't here anymore, how many of you think that Percy has actually gone insane?" She asked quietly.

No one raised their hands- either out of fear or out of truthfulness.

"The gods are lying again," Will said through gritted teeth. "Anyone could see that they were lying. Athena always pronounces her words right."

Pollux nodded his head. He clenched his fists, his eyes closed, as he remembered his twin brother he had lost in the war. "Percy wouldn't go insane. I know I know that I don't know him as well as any of you guys do but he wouldn't go insane like that."

"I've got the things," a new voice entered. Annabeth walked in the room carrying only a backpack. She handed the healing items to Nico quickly. "I know most of you want to come but, the less people we have should be quicker and stealthier. Thalia, Nico, and I will be going."

There were a few protests and groans, but Annabeth had a fierce expression on her face. In a matter of seconds, everybody quickly shut up.

"We'll be back as soon as we can," Annabeth told the counselors. "If anything happens-"

"Why would anything happen?" Katie asked in confusion. "You're just going to see Percy, then coming back, with or without him."

"Just in case. Hopefully we'll be back with Percy, if not, then you'll know that Lord Apollo can heal him better."

A flash of sadness passed in Annabeth's eyes. She ignored the fact that almost everyone could see before turning to the two cousins. A gesture she made with her hands signaled them that they were going.

"Good luck you guys," Will told them before giving a small nod of respect, leaving the room right afterwards.

All the head counselors nodded their heads, muttering a few things before shuffling out of the room as if the Big House didn't have fresh air. The trio looked at each other.

"Nico, you go with Thalia first, I need to check something," Annabeth told them, as they nodded.

"Sure thing ma'am," Thalia mock saluted before she disappeared in a flurry of shadows, caused by Nico.

They were gone in less than five seconds. Annabeth finally allowed herself to nearly collapse on the ping pong table in exhaustion. It had been hours since she had last slept, and the fact that something was happening wasn't helping at all.

"Are you okay, my dear?" a voice asked.

And then there was still Chiron, who had let them slip in the Big House and have a big meeting without the gods knowing, while 'not noticing them.' His face was concerned as he wheeled himself over to Annaneth, who had a tear escaping her eye.

She hastily wiped the tear away. "Yeah. I just didn't think that... That the gods would lie again, or that Percy actually got himself hurt again."

Chiron's eyes showed understanding, and he patted his student's shoulder. He sighed. "You'll get Percy back, he always returns after all. Even in the most unexpected times."

Annabeth allowed herself a small smile. "True."

An exhausted figure sat on the ground unexpectedly, panting for breath. Nico drank a sip of the nectar before some color returned to his 'paler-than-before' face.

"Good luck my dear," Chiron called out after.

"Thanks," Annabeth replied, before grabbing Nico's hand un-awkwardly, and traveling along in the shadows.

The centaur that was in wheelchair-form smiled sadly, casting a look towards where they used to be before turning around-

Only to come face-to-face with a rather angry goddess.

"Where's Annabeth?!"

**With Thalia, Nico, and Annabeth:****  
**  
"That fast?" Annabeth asked her friend once they were in the elevator.

Thalia shrugged, grinning. "I have that effect on people."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Sure you do."

"Try me Death Breath," the daughter of Zeus challenged with a glint of amusement in her sky blue eyes.

"As stealthy and quiet as possible," Annabeth quoted from earlier, annoyance etched in her features.

There was silence on the rest of the elevator ride, mostly due to Annabeth. They were almost on the right floor before Thalia asked a question.

"Why didn't Grover come?" Thalia asked curiously.

Her grey eyes widened, and she nearly facepalmed if it wasn't for the fact that they had already arrived. The elevator dinged once and the doors slid open easily.

"Okay, Nico," Annabeth started, her eyes closing then reopening after some reconsideration. "You have to shadow travel again to the infirmary, same system as last time."

Nico nodded tiredly, before Thalia reluctantly grabbed his shoulder. She closed her eyes once she felt that familiar feeling of coldness spread through her, before they both came to a stop.

Opening her eyes again, she saw that they were right in front of the Olympus ward.

"I'll be back," Nico muttered.

She only nodded, before going to the side of the huge doors, hoping not to be noticed by anyone. Holding her breath, she risked taking a look inside the doors, wondering if she could see her cousin there.

Voices were yelling- shouting at each other in angry tones. She could identify them as male as they continued their arguing about... Things were still unclear.

"I just need to do one checkup! He's fine, why do you need to keep him under daddy-care?!" Apollo shouted, throwing his hands up in the air for extra emphasis.

"It's not 'daddy-care,' Apollo!" Poseidon roared back, putting quote marks on daddy-care.

And so it continued. Thalia watched for another minute before turning around, her electric blue eyes slightly widened. She bit her lower lip before sliding to the ground in shock. _It had been Poseidon who had planned the lies all along, _she thought. _Percy's own 'loving' dad. Planting lies on the campers just because of... Something__._

"Hey Thalia, we're back," a voice whispered in her ear.

A normal person would scream. Instead, she jumped a few feet up in the air before activating her shield, taking out her bow, and aiming the arrow right in the person's face.

"Hey Thalia, it's just us, relax," Nico corrected sarcastically, putting his hands up in the air in surrender.

The daughter of Zeus didn't even acknowledge his presence. She immediately turned to Annabeth, saying her words hastily. "Poseidon is the one who had asked the others to tell the campers about Percy's condition."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes, looking at her friend strangely. "How do you know? He appears to care about Percy-"

"Just hear them," Thalia encouraged, moving away from the doors so Annabeth could hear what they were saying.

"I don't get what your problem is!" Apollo hollered.

"Just for a day or a few hours Apollo, let him stay here!" Poseidon responded, resorting to pleading now.

"And blah blah blah," Thalia continued their pointless arguing with an eye roll.

"That doesn't necessarily mean something Thalia," the daughter of Athena pointed out tiredly. "Maybe he's being overprotective or something."

Thalia pretended to widen her eyes in shock. "The great Annabeth Chase not getting it?!"

Annabeth sighed. "I'm not that great Thalia."

"What do you want to do now?" a voice butted in.

"Now..." she had a faraway look in her eyes as if she were daydreaming about something. "Now we wait."

**A/N: Extremely sorry for the late update. I had writer's block and school wasn't exactly helping, but now it's Spring Break so I hope I can update faster. This chapter was more of a filler one, but the next one will hopefully be better. Thanks for all the support!**

**(Also, I have a poll on my profile asking which chaptered story I should put on hiatus since I have lots of things going on and I can't handle everything at once anymore... Even though it is Spring Break. I will be updating every story once more, ('The Return of Perseus Jackson' has already been updated) before I will see the results and put something on hiatus.)**

**emmalunajackson33: Thanks. Sorry that this was a filler as well, but I had to clear some things up. **

**Daydreamer with wings: Thanks, and its ok****.**


	22. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 21

They all happened to crash into the Jackson residence at the same time. Percy was the first to notice everyone cramped up in an awkward position piling on top of each other. _How the Hades did this happen?__  
_  
"Percy?" a voice asked for reassurance, only happening to notice the most important person in front of her. It was only after Thalia threw Nico off her when she snapped back to the actual reality. "Thalia? Annabeth?"

Nico raised his hand weakly as if saying 'don't forget me.' She nodded in his direction, her stunned expression still there. His hand dropped to the side and his head dropped back to the floor. Hestia watched it all from the background, smiling a little.

"Mom?" Percy managed to croak out. He cleared his throat for a clearer voice. "You're actually here."

Sally smiled a full, sincere one. No words had to be exchanged for them to acknowledge each other's happiness.

_"Told you so didn't I?"_ his figment of imagination spoke in Percy's mind. _"I'm a genius. A pure hardworking idiot."__  
_  
_Idiot?_ His head snapped up in confusion.

_"I am what you look like... Our personalities however are extremely different,"_ the attacker spoke with a tinge of wistfulness. _"If only our roles were switched."_

Percy's eyes widened slightly.

_"I am rather bipolar today aren't I?"_ the attacker said with a faint chuckle.

"Are you alright Percy?" Sally asked worriedly.

"You shouldn't worry about me," Percy replied, still distracted by his attacker's words. "Are you okay?"

Sally laughed. "I'm fine. And what about the rest of your friends?" She looked around, still seeing Nico passed out on the ground.

"Don't worry about him Mrs- Sally," Thalia quickly corrected herself. "I'll give him some ambrosia and nectar so that he'll wake up... Or I'll do it the manual way but-"

"Its fine Thalia," Annabeth interrupted, preventing anything from happening. "Just give him some ambrosia and nectar."

"Well I would do that but seeing as I don't have any..."

Hestia intervened, finally showing herself. "I'll take care of Nico."

Percy stared at Hestia gratefully. He had (almost) forgotten about his friends and cousins. He noted that his mother didn't look surprised at all.

"Well I'm sure Annabeth wants to talk to you," Sally whispered in her son's ear. Then in a louder tone spoke, "I'll go make some pancakes."

"Then I guess I'll just help in the kitchen..." Thalia spoke awkwardly, knowing that the couple wanted to talk. "You people have fun!"

There was too much enthusiasm in his cousin's words for his liking.

_"I'm getting bored you know,"_ the voice was back again.

"I still can't believe you left," Annabeth spoke finally, breaking the silence. "You should've told me."

"Yeah well, I'm extremely sorry for trying to save the people I love," Percy retorted in defense, sarcasm and annoyance seeping through his tone.

Annabeth looked a little hurt, though she quickly recovered. She stared at his eyes, which seemed slightly darker than she was used to. _He's changed, _she realized with a start.

"What happened to you?" Annabeth questioned bluntly.

He didn't answer, avoiding her questioning gaze.

_"Hey, check the news will you? I want to see if there's anything interesting on TV..."__  
_  
She was worried when he reached for the remote and turned on the news.

"Sally? What are you-" Thalia's voice cut off at the end.

A newspaper was tossed over to Percy.

"I had you fooled all along," Sally spoke with amusement in her tone.

Percy's head snapped up from trying to read the headlines. "What?!"

"Annabeth, you're a daughter of Athena and might be better at reading, why don't you tell him what the headlines say?" Sally asked.

And now she was confused. Yet she tried reading it anyway, only getting it after a few moments. "Sally Jackson in a coma like state." She read shakily. "But then- how...?"

"Ask Perseus."

It took a while before he got it. His eyes narrowed dangerously before taking out Riptide and holding it to his mother's throat.

"You," Percy spoke coldly.

"Took you a while didn't it?"

"You lied."

"Don't we all eh Perseus?"

He tried to speak but no more words came out. His hands were shaking, either out of nervousness or rage. Annabeth had never seen him so distressed since the Titan War.

"Percy what's happening?" She asked, the needing of an answer annoying her.

When he didn't reply, she got out her dagger, pointing it at 'Sally's' throat like she would do to a monster.

"If you're wondering, Sally isn't dead yet," the attacker spoke with a snort. "Even that goes beyond me."

"I'm so glad you found some empathy," Percy retorted, sarcasm dripping off his words.

"I'm glad too... In fact I had a lot of self restraint to pretend. Although the bipolar thing is part of my character."

"Well just look at you spilling all your characteristics..."

"ENOUGH!" Annabeth shouted in frustration, not even caring that the doppelganger had some weapons that could kill everyone in the apartment in an instant.

There was a heavy silence in the apartment. The attacker looked bored, glaring at the daughter of Athena. He muttered a barely audible 'too nosy for her own good,' under his breath. Percy trailed Riptide on the floor, making scratching noises that annoyed their ears.

"Stay out of this daughter of Athena," the attacker spoke with boredom in his voice. "This is not your fight, and therefore, should not be involved."

"Says who?" Annabeth challenged, the dagger still pointing to the attacker's throat.

"Says me," the attacker grinned as he/she flicked his fingers.

In just three seconds, Annabeth crashed in a wall, struggling to remain conscious. In two seconds, her will collapsed unintentionally and she became unconscious, her eyes closing. Percy was about to run to her when his attacker waved his hand, making the daughter of Athena vanish.

"What did you do to her?!" Percy demanded, his sea green eyes looking furious.

"She was getting rather annoying don't you think Jackson?" the attacker grumbled. "Well. QUESTION TIME! Oh wait... Too uncomfortable in this crummy apartment..."

They vanished in thin air, leaving no trace of them behind apart from the dent in the wall. All of a sudden, Annabeth reappeared back in the small space of shelter.

"Fun don't you think?" the attacker said, watching the scene through an IM. "There you go Jackson, nothing's happened to you girlfriend... Except maybe a few bruises." He laughed maniacally, before pulling on a straight face.

Percy knew they were back in the same place they were a few hours ago. The same white blank space was still there. It could go on forever. _The perfect prison..._

"So ask away. It's not like you've got anything to do here except for talk. Or the silent treatment but that's rather childish don't you think?"

Rage was all he felt. Riptide was still in sword form, this time pointing downwards. His eyes only showed the darkness of the sea waves that were furiously crashing down upon shore.

"Oh I see. You _have_ picked the silent treatment... This could go on forever Jackson. For your information, time does not stay still. It will pass. You will age. You could be an old man with many, many regrets."

"You're going to kill me anyways."

"Ah... Smart. Well, that's true I suppose. But you have the honor to ask away-"

He lunged at his attacker who was back in his original form. In return, the attacker pulled out his own katana and backed away slowly. Taunting him.

"Well if you play it that way then you leave me with no choice..." the 'Grim Reaper's voice turned cold, and a nasty smile appeared on his lips. "Although I will tell you a few things about me."

"Amuse me with your lies."

"I'm a shapeshifter from a different planet. It's quite amusing actually, seeing people's reactions. And let me tell you, changing in another form hurts like hell. And that's all you're getting."

The attacker moved swiftly, his robes flying in the air behind him. His katana clashed with Riptide and the two struggled with strength. The noise was excruciatingly painful to their ears. Little beads of sweat formed on Percy's forehead. Sweat. Water. A tiny grin.

"We're pathetic," the attacker groaned, finally drawing back his sword to try and stab his victim. "I haven't wielded my katana for years, in wanting if a worthy opponent."

"And?" Percy asked, dodging a low blow to his legs.

"I might've found him."

He didn't know whether to feel honored or angry, yet had to admit that the hated person he was dueling with was good. The feeling of being honored disappeared as the thought of dying crossed his mind.

"So uh... You just want to duel right? Not kill me or anything?" Percy asked nervously, aiming a swipe towards the attacker's neck.

"Dunno. We'll see."

"You're just like the gods you know. Playing with someone or something for their own amusement. Who do you think you are? You think you can just hurt my mom for your entertainment?!" Percy hissed, a mood change evident in his tone.

"You're rubbing off me with the bipolar thing, that's a bad thing," the attacker remarked.

Percy glowered, pushing harder and fighting with more strength than he had when he was regularly sparring with Annabeth. He jumped, avoiding the sharp blade by an inch, and retaliating with a slash of his own.

He knew his mother was right when she suggested he get his hair cut. It was getting in the way of his eyes. If his line of vision was being blocked, then it was extremely dangerous. Even more when he was a demigod.

"There seems to be a problem here..." the attacker eventually spoke, a frown evident on his face. "This is actually getting quite boring..."

The son of Poseidon finally managed to get cut. It wasn't the worst thing in the world but it was still big. The gash trailed all the way from his shoulder halfway up to his elbow. He gasped out in pain, flinching at the wound affecting his arm as he continued fighting.

The attacker sighed, parrying an attempted stab to the stomach easily. "You can fight better than that Jackson."

Not knowing what to say, he kept his mouth shut, ignoring his predator. He wanted to go home. See his family and friends. Reunite with his mother. Not 'battle to death.'

"Have some faith in yourself."

He knew his attacker was taunting him into fighting better. And yet he still succumbed to his will. His sea green eyes glowed for a second. Ignoring the sharp pain in his arm, he sent a powerful kick to the other's ankle before pointing Riptide to his opponent's neck.

"I believe I win," Percy spoke in a quiet tone.

Blood pooled around his feet as the body came crashing to the white ground.

He spat out blood, which tasted strange in his mouth. "I-I can't die... Only by one sword but y-you can't have it. Z-Zoe N-Nightshade had it last... I-I challenged her to an archery competition..."

Percy stayed silent, though his curiosity bested him. "And you lost?"

"No... I don't kill girls," the dying attacker spoke, laughing maniacally.

"Hercules had it the last time I heard," Percy replied informatively.

"T-That bastard die e-eh?" he managed to rasp out. A visible smile could be seen through the bottom of the hood. "I-I died worthy..."

The katana clattered to the floor.

**A/N: Maybe the sorry's I say actually have some meaning when I type it out for the late updates... Well finally, 'Don't Mess with the Cabins' has been the story going on hiatus. Next story will probably be the last chapter (although I'm low on ideas...) Thanks for all the support!**


	23. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Eye of Sauron****  
**  
Chapter 22

The monitor beeped steadily, the squiggly line going up and down. Percy tried seeing as much as he could from the half closed window blinds. He was sitting on the chairs outside the room where his mother lay, pale and unmoving.

"Ah Perse- Mr. Jackson, there you are," the nurse spoke much too cheerful to his liking. There was a strange hiss at the end of the sentence. The mistake at the beginning didn't make him feel welcome either. "Your mother is very lucky to have survived, but her chances of living are quite... Low..."

The voice sounded strained, as if it wanted to burst in its own language or speech. Percy stared at the nurse, his sea green eyes dark as he glanced at her eyes. _Red_. Even the red eyed nurse had enough common sense to not make a scene in public.

"Would you like to come inside?" the nurse invited maliciously, pointing to a door.

He didn't have much of a choice, seeing as she bared her sharp fangs at him innocently. A bloody sharp kitchen knife seemed to be in her hand as if she had acquired it from a runaway demigod, which she probably had. He placed his hands inside his jean pocket, nervously fiddling with Riptide.

The door closed with a bang, but he didn't jump, somehow immune to the loud noise. Silence. In a blur, Riptide was released and was about an inch away from chopping off the _empousa's_ head off when she jumped back, a devious grin on her face as she held the knife right over where Sally's heart should be.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, your precious mother's life could go if I dropped the knife... Accidentally..." the _empousa_ hissed, her voice sickly sweet.

He tried to see things tactfully, but all he could think of was how he wanted to decapitate the monster. _No one messes with my family, _he thought furiously, staring at her. _No one._

"You killed him!" the _empousa_ suddenly shrieked in a high pitched tone. "You killed him!"

The monster was screeching now, and Percy was trying to calm the situation down, his sea green eyes glancing at the knife in panic.

"Kill who?!" Percy shouted in aggravation taking a glance at the _empousa_ who wasn't focusing on him at that moment.

"Revenge," the monster was muttering, her red eyes looking up. "Sweet, sweet revenge... An eye for an eye..."

The _empousa_ screeched once more, her red eyes glaring at the son of Poseidon, all hints of any sultry look disappearing in a flash. Her pale face blended in with the plain white walls of the hospital. The corners of her mouth upturned in a nasty smile.

She stabbed downwards.

* * *

_"An earthquake believed to be a magnitude of eight has struck, taking down an entire hospital in the process, along with many other buildings in that area. As far as we know, there are sixteen casualties and counting, making this an extreme natural disaster..."_

* * *

"... killing sixteen mortals and counting, damaging public property, injuring even more mortals, destroying the hospital which for now, mortals cannot go to because it's gone..."

"Is that all Hermes?" Zeus asked, sighing afterwards.

"He's unstable," Athena commented, though it wasn't out of dislike.

He tried to form words but nothing came out. It could be something to do with his screaming from before. His shaggy black hair hung in front of his eyes, blocking the dull sea green eyes.

"Give him a break Athena, his mother just got murdered right in front of him," Hermes snapped, noticing the lack of emotion from the demigod.

"Sixteen mortals were killed because of sadness and anger. And a hospital was destroyed, injuring the injured even more," Athena stated. "If his powers are based of emotions, and cannot control them... He will pose a possible threat."

"I will teach him how to control them," Poseidon announced, his sea green eyes looking wary.

"But even you cannot control his power," Athena continued. "You knew there was an earthquake happening and tried to stop it. Yet you didn't get very far. The boy poses a threat to us all."

"What are you saying Athena, that we should kill my son because he has too much power?!" Poseidon roared. "Hypocrites, all of us have destroyed and damaged much more than this! Yet you are all acting like this is something new!"

His voice echoed around the newly built Throne Room. Even Athena hadn't been expecting the outburst, and remained quiet for some time, thinking thoughtfully.

"But we are the Olympians," Dionysus stated, one of the few who weren't surprised with the outburst. "A demigod who has too much power and an Olympian who can't even stop half of the power is extremely dangerous."

"How about the little punk stays in daddy's palace," Ares jeered, sneering at the demigod who kneeled on the floor, broken. "No harm done."

Zeus stroked his beard, nodding at the idea as if he didn't even hear Poseidon's valid point. He didn't even wait for any approval from the demigod. Some other Olympians nodded as well.

"All in favor of Perseus staying in Atlantis?" Zeus boomed loudly, watching the vote.

Most hands went up. Zeus looked around, before joining in on the vote, raising his hand in the air. Poseidon pondered for a while, his hand going up and down hesitantly for a few seconds before it ended back on the armrest of his throne.

"And to think you were all grateful for Percy saving Olympus," Poseidon muttered darkly.

"Percy never got to vote," a small but wise voice stated. "It is his life after all."

"They don't really care much Hestia," Hades scorned, although even he seemed to grumble a bit about the congestion in the Underworld with sixteen more deaths to add to the list.

Zeus opened his mouth to protest, but Poseidon beat his brother to it.

"Hestia is right, Percy what do you want?" Poseidon asked curiously, still fuming slightly.

The demigod refused to say anything, sealing his own fate of staying in Atlantis until he died.

A discarded newspaper lay on the camp grounds near the Poseidon cabin. Chiron picked it up, wondering why a newspaper was right in front of the empty cabin when Percy was visiting his mother.

* * *

"A major earthquake has struck us, taking down an entire hospital with sixteen casualties..." Chiron read out, his hands gripping the newspaper tightly. "Pray that the gods... No, the gods will show no mercy..."

The centaur took the newspaper with him back to the Big House, knowing it would remain untouched in front of the Poseidon cabin for quite some time. He spotted Thalia and Annabeth jogging towards him.

"Chiron have you seen Percy?" Annabeth asked curiously, slightly worried. "I just came back with Nico because Thalia accidentally slipped in the kitchen..."

"We can discuss it in the Big House," Chiron sighed tiredly, wanting some information. "And please bring Nico with you."

"Um..." the words came out of Thalia's mouth, when Annabeth nudged her. "Sure."

Chiron watched them leave in a hurry, sighing as he trotted to the Big House by himself. He knew Sally was in a coma, and so came the reason of why Percy had to leave camp...

"So why did you want to see us Chiron?" Thalia asked bluntly, though there was still a hint of respect in her tone.

"How was Percy doing the last time you saw him?" Chiron pried, glancing at their expressions curiously.

"The only thing I remember was coming to visit him because of his mother along with Death Breath and Annabeth. Paul was there and I hit my head on something. Nico and Annabeth brought me back to camp," the daughter of Zeus answered.

Nico nodded as proof to her statement.

"He was upset," Annabeth told her mentor in more detail. She looked lost in thought. "He was really worried about something and when Paul came in the living room, he started acting strange... Then I went to help Thalia since he seemed like he wanted to have his alone time..."

"Did you see him before you came back to camp?" Chiron questioned further.

"Well I wanted to," Annabeth replied, nodding her head. "But he was gone."

"Gone where?"

"I... I don't know, he was just... Gone..."

By the look in her eyes, he could tell she was concerned and worried about him. Her tone cracked slightly under the observing keen ears of the centaur. It was the meaningful voice crack of helplessness as if even she didn't know what to do.

Nico scowled slightly in his seat. "He might have something to do with the 'unexpected people coming in the Underworld with Charon sneering at them' problem. Sixteen people..."

It was Chiron who nodded this time. "An earthquake. As fate has it, right in the hospital where Sally Jackson resided in- along with all the other people, perhaps even Lord Apollo's children..."

"You're saying that Percy caused it," Thalia questioned, an uncertain look in her eyes. "But why...?"

"Hopefully the gods will show mercy and spare his life... Although that could be one of the better alternatives..." Chiron spoke with a forlorn look in his old eyes. "Hope is something we all need, even though it hopefully is still in Pandora's Box... Meeting dismissed."

He sat in his wheelchair, thinking with a heavy frown, not even noticing that the three demigods had nearly left.

"Chiron?" Annabeth called out, her grey eyes looking the stormiest of the dark skies he had seen. She attempted to not stutter or mumble. "Do you... Do you think he'll be fine?"

It was a naïve thought, and he loosely wondered why she was trying to be optimistic when the son of Poseidon was dealing with the Olympians due to a mistake. He chose not to answer for a while, choosing how to respond. The atmosphere got tense.

"We'll have to wait and see Annabeth," Chiron eventually answered ominously.

She nodded once as a silent thank you and finally left the Big House. It hurt her as much as it hurt him.

* * *

"I don't get why your demigod son has to stay here," Amphitrite spoke finally, breaking the awkward silence. "Why can't he go to camp?"

Poseidon sighed. "We've talked about this..."

"No we haven't!" Amphitrite shrieked. "You just come here, with him, not telling me anything except that 'he'll be staying with us from now on.' I thought you said a few weeks ago that you... That you would officially return back to the family and forget about your demigod son and that mortal."

The sea god's expression was more guilty than angry. Almost every god was corrupted, whether it was visible or not. He stood up from the table, staring at his wife with an unreadable expression.

Percy stood up abruptly, his chair making no noise as it was pushed back by water. He muttered something incoherently, before leaving the table.

"How rude," Triton commented in a low voice. His tone was bitter

"This conversation is finished," Poseidon muttered, staring at his wife and son before leaving as well.

* * *

It was a few hours later before Poseidon slowly opened the door to his son's door. The god made no noise as he looked around as if searching for something.

A letter. Right there in the middle of the water fountain with a pocketful of drachmas in a small transparent bag. For a humorous second, he could imagine someone sneaking up on him with a knife to his throat whispering 'curiosity killed the cat.' The vision disappeared and he was back to picking up the letter.

_Dear Lord Hermes,_

_I suppose I should thank you for voting for my... Whatever punishment I deserve instead of playing prisoner. It's important that you get these letters sent out._

_Percy Jackson_

And that was it. The god looked around before finding another few letters floating beneath the main one. He cerebrated looking at his son who was asleep before looking back at the letters. _Do it,_ some devil voice was telling him. _Don't betray your son._ The cheesy routine of the angel and the devil happened.

Poseidon hesitantly picked it up, biting his lip, before glancing back towards his son again. He wasn't sleeping anymore. Instead, his mirrored sea green eyes- a shade darker with silent fury- stared at him.

No words had to be spoken to make the silence unwelcome and awkward. Poseidon dropped the letter on the sea floor before leaving as silent as the silence had been. He didn't get a chance to read the letter, though his eyes had briefly skimmed it.

_Dear Annabeth (Wise Girl),_

_I wish...__  
_  
Perhaps briefly skimmed it weren't the right words. Poseidon closed the door behind him, sighing as he leaned against the rough coral textured walls. He took a deep breath, knowing why the letters were still there.

Opening the door, he stepped right in. "Hermes didn't deliver them did he?"

Unwillingly, Percy shook his head, his position not once having changed from the last few seconds. Poseidon could see his son glance at the letters in grief and desperation. If he delivered them, he would be in trouble.

"I'll do it then," Poseidon finally decided, meeting his son's eyes which were questioning. He tried for a small smile. "Zeus doesn't have to know."

Already making up his mind, he strode out the room, noticing the whispered and hoarse 'thank you' he received. His smile brightened up considerably, although his mood dimmed slightly when he thought about the king of the gods.

Zeus is like the Eye of Sauron when it comes to situations like this, Poseidon thought, grumbling to himself as he looked at the first letter he was supposed to deliver. He teleported out of Atlantis, taking a few steps outside the camp border before unconsciously glancing up the sky.

Thunder rumbled and the sky darkened its light bluish color. Poseidon cursed, about to teleport back to Atlantis and try a new method when lightning struck, electrocuting and reducing the letters to ashes. All of the pieces of paper with Ancient Greek writing that Percy had worked so hard on were all gone.

A new letter fell from the sky, a sort of electrifying current surrounding it. The sight left a bitter thought in the sea god's mind. Poseidon read the paper nonetheless, wanting to rip it to shreds afterwards. He knew for a fact that Athena had helped write it.

_Poseidon, _

_There is to be no contact between Perseus and the outside world. That is his punishment- which could have been much worse than staying in his own home. If you fail to comply this simple task, then his punishment will be much worse than the idea of a penalty thought up of by Ares. Consider your son lucky._

_The King of the Gods,__  
__Zeus__  
_  
**A/N: I would like to thank every single person who has supported me all throughout the story, and the people who have put this story in their communities; I really appreciate it.**

**After a year of extremely late updates, the story is finally completed. I realize that many of you will probably be rather pissed off at the ending- seeing as it is kind of depressing but if I attempted a happy ending at this story, it wouldn't be good. Maybe I'll write a sequel later on...**

**Also to all of those confused with Thalia's story, basically when the attacker died, it was like if he was never there before- only Percy can remember him, since he had an actual encounter with him. The mist in the attacker's world is stronger than the one on Earth. If you are still confused, PM me. Once again, thank you for all the support!**


End file.
